Love not Blood
by miss.prissypants25
Summary: "I realize here that family doesn't need to have the same blood, they just need to love ya." Clarabelle is one who is not loved by her parents but is loved by the Dukes. Will she stay in Hazzard or will she be forced to leave? *Editing in progress*
1. Introduction

**This is another story I've thought of. I'm only putting this story on for now just so I can see what people think. I might continue it with my other 2 stories but I'm not sure. But for now just enjoy this chapter.**

**I don't own DoH. But I do own everything that was not in the show.**

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><p>I sit in the garage and watch Cooter as he works on my car. My Mustang was doing so well and then I just quit working. I got the car from the junkyard in Atlanta. I fixed it up with the help of my friends.<p>

"I don't know what is wrong." Cooter says as he puts the hood down. Cooter is the best mechanic in the south.

"How could you not know? You're the best." I stand up and walk over to him.

"I think I'm goin' to have to pull the whole thing out and pull it apart to see what is wrong." I sigh. "I'll call the guys to pick ya up."

He walks over to the CB radio that was on the table. "Thanks Coot." I walk around my car running my hand along it. The smooth baby blue paint that was only 7 ½ years old.

"They're on their way." Cooter walks back over to me.

"I just don't get how she could get so bad that ya have to pull out the engine to see what's wrong." She wasn't that old.

"I don't know. Something might have just came loose." He gets a smirk on his face. "Maybe its from racing Bo and Luke on the rough terrain the other day."

I loved to race Bo and Luke. I can't say no to a race against them. "I don't know. It might also be something ya did last time." I give him a smirk and cross my arms across my chest.

"I bet it was the race." That's the only thing he could get out before we hear the beginning of Dixie. I turn around and see the guys and the General Lee.

The General Lee is a Dodge Charger that is half a year older than my car. Bo and Luke found him a junkyard. They were looking for a frame to put their engine they made themselves in. He is orange since that was the only color Cooter had in the shop at the time. He also has a 01 on both door, which are welded shut, and has a confederate flag on top. When they painted the flag they knew exactly what to name him, and that is the General Lee. They painted that above both doors and they had their racing car.

I say bye to Cooter and jump into the General. Luke climbed in after me and that left me between him and Bo. They always had me sit between them when it was just us three because they thought I would be more safe for me. Once we were all in, Bo speeds out of the square.

"Thanks for taking me home guys." I tell them.

"No problem. You're family." Luke says.

I pretty much was family. I've lived in Hazzard since I was 5. Now I'm 25. I've known Bo, Luke, their cousin Daisy, and their Uncle Jesse since I came here. I live with my grandmother who is also the one that takes care of me. My parents are the worst parents in the world. They don't even act like they have a child. They travel around the country just for business meetings and such. I did live in Los Angles but my parents wanted to save money so they sold our house, fired the nanny I had, and moved us to my grandmother's here. They wanted to have a ton of money. They never wanted to spend it. They don't even stay longer than 12 hours. They just come to get some new clothes, leave the others, and get some food and a little rest. They only give us enough money for the bills and sometimes there is a little bit of money for us to spend on other stuff. I work so that we can get our dinner and other needed stuff. I work at the garage but I also take pictures for the Hazzard Gazette. I wish I didn't have to do all of this but I had to.

"Though I think you owe me." Bo says. I roll my eyes. Not again. "How 'bout I take ya on a date?"

"Ya know I'm not like the other girls." He tries this all the time. He had been out with every girl in town except me. I'm not one to fall for his blue eyes and blond hair.

"Can't I just have a kiss." He pouts at me.

"No." I was happy that I was the only girl that has not kissed or gone out with him. I was the smartest of all the girls here in town, except Daisy. She's his cousin.

"Fine." He keeps doing this even though he knows the answer.

"Now that this is all done and over with, does Cooter know what's wrong with your car?" Luke asks.

I look over at him. "No. He said that he will have to pull out the engine and pull it apart and maybe he'll find something."

He puts an arm around me and hugs me. "Don't worry. He'll figure it out."

"I know." I look out the window and realize that we were going by one the speed traps. Once we drive by, I hear sirens. I look behind us and see that it was Cletus. "I guess Enos is somewhere else."

"I think he told Daisy that he was needed in L.A. for a few weeks." Bo said.

I think about where we are right now and think of how we can loose him. I then realized that we didn't need to run. I grab the mic to the CB and make sure it's on the channel that he would be on. "Cletus, this is Clara. Can ya please not try and pull us over? I have to get home to my grandma. She needs my help right now."

The guys look at me and laugh. They knew that I was bad for using that excuse, especially on him. "Okay Clarabelle. I'm sorry. Tell her I said hi."

I laugh with the guys. "Okay I will. Thanks Cletus."

I put the mic back and look behind us. Cletus was turning around. I look at the guys and they were still laughing. I hit both of them in the arm."Stop laughing."

"It's hard to stop." Bo says. We get to my house and Luke jumps out. He pulls me out and gives me a hug.

"Thanks for the ride again guys."

"No problem." Luke gets in and they drive off. I wave at them untill they're out of sight.

I walk inside and grandma is working on her cross stitch. I sit in the chair across from her. She looks at me and gives me a disaproving look.

"I heard what ya said to Cletus." I forgot that she would be listening to the CB.

I smile at her. "Sorry. I just wanted to get home. Ya know that Cooter has to pull out the engine to see what's wrong."

"I'm sorry sweetie."

"It's okay. I just hope he can figure it out." I lump into the chair.

"He will, don't worry. At least it didn't happen when ya were racin'." I look away. She didn't like it when I raced.

I get up and walk to my room. I kick off my shoes and jump on my bed. I lay on my side and look at the wall. The wall said a lot. I got my first camera when I was a teen. I've taken pictures of all kinds of thing that have happened in my life. I've got pictures from graduation, birthdays, and just times from hanging around. They were all great pictures. Only a few people know about them. But everyone knows that I take a lot. I had my favorite pictures. The ones I love the most are from mine and Bo's graduation. Luke was still over seas, at least that's what we thought. It was afterward when he showed his face to us. We were all happy to see him. But Bo and I were the most excited. Bo had his reasons but I guess my reasons are ones that I just can't think of. I was just really happy to see him. Alive and safe.

"Clara! Can ya come in here please?" Grandma shouts.

I roll my eyes and get up. It wasn't dinner time yet. I walk out and find her in the kitchen. She has her head in the fridge. She doesn't move or realize I'm in here. "Yah?" I ask.

She straightens up and looks at me. She had her apron on so she had to be making something really good. "I need ya to get some eggs we seem to be all out."

I look at here. We get our eggs from Jesse. "Okay." I walk over to the hooks by the phone and grab her keys to her truck.

I walk to the door but am stopped by her. "Don't forget the money." She hads me the few bills she has in her hand.

"Okay Grandma." I put it in my pocket and walk out the door.

I jump in her truck and head to the farm. It isn't far but it isn't close. It's probably about 7 miles away from us. It only take about 5-10 minutes. I take my time knowing trying to think of what kind of remark he's going to make when he sees me. I get there and park behind Dixie, whick is Daisy's jeep. I get out and walk up to the back door. I walk on in sicne I pretty much was family. I look around to see if I could find Jesse. No ones in the house so that means that Jesse and the guys were in the fields. Daisy must be giving them something out there. I walk out and see Jesse walking to the barn.

"Hey Uncle Jesse!" I yell to him as I run to catch up to him.

"Hey Clarabelle. The boys told me that your car broke down."

"Yah. Cooter's doin' his best to figure it out. Grandma sent me to get some more eggs." I tell him getting to what I came here for.

"Okay." He goes into the barn and brings out a few crates. "Here ya go."

I take them and put them in the front seat beside me. I then walk back over to him. I pull out the bills and hand them to him. "Here's the money."

"Ya know that ya guys don't need to pay for them." He tells me.

"Yah, I know but if ya don't take it now, Grandma's goin' to be doin' anything after church just to get ya to take it."

"You're right. Might as well take it now." He grabs the money from my hand. We both let out a giggle. Grandma knows what's right and when she does, she will not let someone change it.

He pulls me into a hug. Jesse is the father I never had. He's like that with Bo, Luke, and Daisy but I feel like I have every thing. I feel like I have the family I deserve.

"Look who came to see me." I turn and see Bo walking toward us with Luke following behind. They both had their shirts off and were covered in sweat. They must have finished working in the field. I then see Daisy follow behind Luke.

"I came on an erron Bo." I tell him.

"Just keep saying that. But I know ya missed me. And I know what you're thinking." I cross my arms over my chest and put all my weight on my left side. "The offer is still avaliable."

I walk up to him. I look up into his eyes. I give him a sweet look. "Not in this life time." I whisper to him.

I step away and look at how he reacts. His 6' 3" body was all straight and tall but now it is slumped over, disapointed. I shack my head. He was trying to play that card. "Don't even waste your strangth doin' that Bo. It'll never work."

I straightens back up and I just laugh in my head. He could totally be an actor. I walk back to the truck and open the door.

"You two want to come over for dinner?" Daisy asks and she walks to the house.

"I think Grandma is already making dinner. Maybe another time." I tell her.

"How 'bout tomorrow?" Luke asks.

"Thats fine with me but I'll check with her." They all get a smile on their faces. I smile back and wave to them. I get in and drive home. I drive a little slower and more causause so I can keep the eggs perfect.

I get home and take the eggs inside. Grandma sees me and runs over to help. "Finally. I've been needin' these." She takes them to the counter and cracks a few for what ever she's making.

"Grandma, do ya think we can go over to the farm for dinner tomorrow?" I ask her as I sit at the kitchen table.

"Yah that would be great." She looks at me as she say it with a smile. I smile back at her.

I get up and walk into the living room. We keep the CB in there just so it is in a more central area. I plop into the chair we keep beside it and grab the mic. I turn it on and hope that they have the CB in their house on.

"Breaker, breaker. Is anyone at the Duke farm listening. This here is Cow Bell at the Chicken Coop. Any of ya listenin'?" I wait a minute.

"Lost Sheep 2 here. What's up Cow Bell?" Bo says.

"Mother Goose said it is fine for tomorrow."

"That's great. How 'bout ya come over about 6:30." Daisy says.

"Great. Hopefully I'll see ya then." I laugh a little. Here in Hazzard ya never know what is going to happen every day. We always expect something bad to happen.

"Kay. I'm gone." She says. I lay the mic down but leave the CB on.

I just think of the handles we have. I'm 'Cow Bell' since I have the same name as Clarabelle the cow, who is a Disney character. Grandma's 'Mother Goose' since she is the lead lady to all of us. And out house is the 'Chicken Coop' since when ever anything goes crazy, our house is one of the places we would retreat to.

I get up and walk back into the kitchen. I find Grandma putting 2 pans into the oven. She closes it and turns around. She jumps a little and throws her hand over her heart. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

"I'm sorry. I wasn't tryin'." I walk up to her and give her a hug. "You okay?"

She is old. I wanted to make sure that I didn't do anything to hurt her. "Yah I'm fine."

"That's good. What are we havin' tonight?" I ask as I sit down.

"I got one of your favorites, biskets and a chicken soup. Then I'm also makin' a apple pie." She sits across the table from me.

"Yay." I give her a big smile. I then remember what I was doing just a few minutes ago. "I told Bo that you said it was okay. Then Daisy said we can go over about 6:30."

"That sounds great." She has a smile as big as mine on my face.

She loves to go over there. I really think that she like Jesse, almost as much as Miz. Tisdale but she doesn't show it like her. I've asked her if she does but she always says she doesn't. Bo, Luke, and Daisy agree with me that she like him. We've even thought that he likes her back. But who knows.

Dinner is done within 20 minutes and I eat almost half of the food. "You are so much like Bo. Ya know that?" Grandma asks me after I fill my bowl up a 3rd time.

"Yes Grandma. Ya say that every single time I eat like this." I roll my eyes as I sit down. I only eat like this when it is something I love. Even after having a 4th bowl, I sit eat a big slice of the pie.

I lean back and lay my hands on my stomach. "I really don't know how ya stay so thin when I make your favorites almost every night?" Grandma asks.

"I don't know. I might just be how I live. With helpin' out at the farm some and playin' around with the guys."

"That might just be." She gives me a smile. I know what the smile says. It says that she just wants to believe it and just thinks that I got the metabolism like my dad. I roll my eyes at her and give her a grin that says she is crazy. I look at the clock on the wall and realize that it is already 9:10. I guess I took a long time to eat.

"I'm goin' to head to bed." I get up and walk to the other side of the table. I bend down and give Grandma a hug and kiss.

"Okay sweetheart. Sleep well."

"I'll try." I turn and walk down the hallway. I get to my room at the end and close the door.

I grab my tank top and shorts off my bed and change into them. I throw my jeans and t-shirt in the hamper and sit on my bed. I look at all my pictures one last time. I turn off the lights and get under the covers. I slowly drift off to sleep so I can start a new day.

_I find myself in the middle of the football field behind the high school. I was in my cap and gown with my shorts and tank top. I was facing Bo and my friend Kayla._

_"Congratulations you two." I turn and see Grandma walking up to us. Jesse and Daisy are following behind._

_"Thanks Grandma." She pulls me and Bo into a hug._

_"I'm just so happy. You're valedictorian and Bo passes with straight Bs." She says. I smile as she lets us go. She can make little things into bigger things._

_"I'm proud too." I turn and see a man with brown curly hair with blue eyes. He is in a Marine uniform._

_"Luke!" Bo and I yell at the same time. We run to him and hug him._

_"What are ya doin' here?" I ask as I hug him._

_"I'm discharged and it couldn't have been at a better time." He says. I pull away and he picks up a bouquet of flowers off the bag beside him. "I made it into town just in time to get these and get here."_

_He hands me the flowers and I hug him again. "I'm really proud of you Bo. I'm real happy with how you've helped out." Luke whispers to Bo before everyone else joins us._

_"I can't believe you're here Luke." Daisy says. She walks up to him and hugs him. "It's really nice to have ya here."_

_"It's also nice to see ya still in one piece." Grandma says and she walks up to him and hugs him._

_"How long ya stayin'?" Jesse asks._

_"Lets just say that I'm not goin' back." Jesse gets a big smile. He hugs Luke and I could see tears in the old man's eyes. "It's good to have ya back."_

_"It's great to be back."_

_"Okay. Let's get the new graduates and the veteran together for a picture." Grandma says. We just had to get pictures of this moment. It's special for many reasons._

_Jesse and Daisy stand behind her as Bo and I stand beside Luke. He wraps his arms around both of us and we do the same to him._

_"Now everyone say wake up." She says. I give her a weird look. This is a memory dream. She never said that._

_"Clarabelle, wake up." Luke and Bo say. What on earth is happening? Darkness falls around me and I'm brought out of the dream._

"Clarabelle, wake up."

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><p><strong>I hope this is okay. Like I said, I might update this but I might not. I'll just have to see. I really do want to know what you guys think of this.<strong>


	2. It's all my parents' fault

**So I decided to put the next chapter up. Hope ya like.**

**I don't own DoH.**

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><p>"Clarabelle, wake up." I hear Grandma say.<p>

"Mmmmm." Light was hitting my eyes. I turn around and face away from the light.

"Clarabelle, ya need to wake up. Cooter's on the phone."

"Tell him to call back later." I get out quietly.

"He says it's about your car."

That got my attention but I don't get up in a hurry. "Tell him I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay." I hear her walk out of the room and close the door. I open my eyes and look at the wall. I turn back around and squint my eyes. The sun light is so bright. Once they adjust, I look at the clock. 9:18. _Why does it have to be so early._

I get up and grab my robe off the floor. I put it on and walk out of the room. I walk down the hallway into the living room. I go into the kitchen and walk over to the phone. I pick the receiver off the counter and hold it to my ear.

"Hello?" I say groggily.

"Hey Clara." I hear Cooter say.

"Grandma said that ya wanted to talk to me about my car."

"Yah. I wanted to tell ya that I found the problem and that I got the part. It should be done by this afternoon."

"Okay. I'm just goin' to get ready and just come on over."

"That's fine with me."

"Great. See ya in a bit."

"Bye."

"Bye." I hang up the phone. I walk out into the living room and lean against the wall for a minute. I watch Grandma as she does her cross stitch. "I'm heading into town. Ya need anything?" I ask her.

She stops and looks up at me. "No. I think I'm good. What did Cooter say?"

"He said he found the problem and he should be done by this afternoon."

"That's good." She gives me a smile and goes back to her cross stitch.

I walk down the hallway back to my room. I stand in front of the dresser and open up one of the drawers. I pull out a pair of jeans. I then open another drawer and look through my shirts. I pull out a purple button up shirt. I change and grab a belt off the top. I put it on and pull out some socks. I put them on and throw my boots on. I walk into the bathroom and clean myself up. I walk back into my room and grab my bag off of one of the knobs and walk out of my room. I go back to the living room and walk over to Grandma.

"I'm leaving." I tell her.

"Be safe." She lifts her head up and I give her a kiss.

I grab the truck's keys and head out the door. I carefully drive into town trying not to get caught in one of Rosco's speed traps. I drive around the town square and pull up to the garage. The door was open and I could see Cooter working on my car. I get out leaving my bag in the truck and walk in.

"How's she comin' Coot?" I ask as I walk up to him.

He stands up and I see he has circles under his eyes. "Pretty good. Should be done in an hour."

"Great. Did ya stay up all night? 'Cause you sure look like ya did."

"Yah. It's nothin' though."

"Okay. Ya need any help?" I ask.

"No, I'm good."

"Okay then. I'll just be over at the gazebo."

"All righty." I give him a smile and walk out to my truck. I pull my bag out of the truck and walk over to the park. I find a bench and sit down. I lay my bag beside me and pull my book out. I read for about 15 minutes before I feel someone's hands on my shoulders. I gently close my book and lay it on my lap. Then in a quick second, I have a hold of the person's wrist and stand up. As I stand up and face them, I cross their arms so they won't have as much use of their arms. Once I see who it is I don't let go and let my guard down.

"What's all this for?" Bo asks.

"I didn't know who ya were so I was protecting myself." I give him a smug look.

"Alright, I'm sorry for sneakin' up on ya. Will ya just let me go?" He pleads.

I release his wrists and he relaxes his arms. I pick my book up from the ground and wipe off all the grass. I grab my bag and glare at Bo. "Why would ya sneak up on me like that?" I ask him.

"I was just wantin' to say hi."

"Well that was stupid." I look at him one more time and start walking to the garage.

"What are ya doin' here anyway?" He asks as he follows me.

"Cooter almost has my car fixed. I decided to wait here in town."

"Oh. I have to get back to the farm. See ya tonight."

"See ya." I stop and watch him as he runs over to the General. Once he's in I continue to the garage. I get there but don't walk in. I just put down the tailgate of the truck and sit on it. I lay my bag beside me. I flip my book around in my hands and read it.

_*thud*_

I shake my head. Is he really trying to sneak up on me again? "I swear Bo. If you're goin' to do the same thing again, I'm goin' to kill you."

I hear nothing. "Come on Bo. I kno-" Suddenly someone's hand is over my mouth. Someone then pulls my hands behind my back. I quickly bite the hand over my mouth as hard as I can. Some man screams and lifts it away. I knew I had only a few seconds before something else would cover my mouth. "HELP!" I cry out. I scream till there is a gag in my mouth. I just hope Cooter heard me.

I'm suddenly blind folded and picked up. I hang over some man's shoulder. I kick around hoping to hit him where it would hurt. I hear a car door open and stop kicking. I'm put on my feet but only for a second before I'm thrown into the car. I fall and lay on the seat.

I try and find my footing and stand up. "Stay down." I hear in a low tone. I then feel the cold metal of a gun against my arm. I slowly layed back down.

"I just knew something bad might happen." I say in my head. The road was winding at an upward angle. We had to be going into the mountains. I try and keep myself on the seat. It would help a little if I could see. All of a sudden I feel us driving downward. So we weren't staying in the mountains. We drive for about 20 minutes as for what I could tell. We stop and the driver turns off the car. Both of the front doors open and slam close. I hear footsteps and mumbles of people talking. I then hear foot step getting closer. All of a sudden the door by my head opens. Hands grab my hair and my arms. I scream a little as my hair is pulled. Once I'm all the way out of the car, I have a hard time finding my footing. I'm then thrown over some guy's shoulder again. I don't even try kicking 'cause I know it's no good. I can tell that I'm brought into a house and it takes the man only a few minutes to find the room he needs. It ends up being a room on a second floor. He lifts me off and puts me in a chair. He lifts my arms so that it's over the back. A rope is then tied around my torso and over my arms. My feet are then tied to the chair. I then hear more footsteps and they join me in the room. The door closes and it's silent. The blind fold in suddenly taken off my eyes. I jump a little, not expecting that. I see two guys stand across the room from me. I recognized neither of them. The gag is removed and I'm relieved.

"Hello Miss. Sandell." The man on the right says.

"Who are ya?" I ask. I move my jaw around trying to loosen it back up.

"That's information that can't be told to you." The man answers.

"Then why am I here?"

"You're here because of your parents."

I think for a minute. "What did my parents do?"

"I want my money back." He says unrelated to what I asked.

"What money?" The tone in my voice was sounding angrier.

The man walks closer to me. He bends down and makes sure his eyes are level with mine. "They took a deal from me. It was suppose to be mine but they swooped in and took it. I want them to pay for it. That's why you're here."

"Well have fun tryin'. Nothin' will get them to pay ya. Sadly enough, not even me."

"I can find someone that will pay the money to get you back." He straightens up and keeps looking at me. "But the gag back in."

The person behind me puts the gag back in my mouth. The man that was in front of me walks back to the door. The other man opens the door and they both walk through. The person behind me then walks through the door and closes it. They leave me alone in the room. What fun this is going to be.

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><p>"Wake up!" I jump a little. I slowly open my eyes. The door is wide open and the lead guy walks right up to me. I lift my head up and feel a pain in my neck. "Guess what I found out?"<p>

I look at him in the eyes. He walks right up to me and looks me into the eyes also. I don't try to say a word.

"You don't know? Well I'll tell you. I found out that you live with your Grandmother. Maybe she'll give up anything for your safe return."

"No." I mumble, still having the gag in my mouth. "Don't harm her."

"What? I can't understand you." He gives me a sly look. He stands straight up. "Don't worry. I won't harm her much." He gives a little chuckle.

I try to jump at him but the chair keeps me from doing it. I struggle a little but give up. He walks so that he stands right in front of me. I look into his eyes and just see hatered and evil. Suddenly I feel a sting on my cheek and my head is facing the left side of the room. I move my head and look at him. He had an evil smile on his face.

"If you try it again, it will be much worse than that." He walks out of the room and leaves me alone again.

I wish my hand was free so I could rub where he slapped me. I look around the room and see sun light pouring into the room. Oh how I hate my parents right now. If there weren't like they are, I wouldn't be in this situation. My mind wonders for what could be an hour. All of a sudden I smell something burning. Nothing changes in the room. They have to be cooking something, and not doing a good job. Suddenly smoke starts to fill the room. I keep looking around trying to find a way out but it's no use. I start coughing because of the smoke.

I hear the door open but can't see who the one that opened it is. "Clara?"

My spirits suddenly perk up. "Bo!" I mumble out.

A dark shape starts moving toward me then I can see that it was Bo. "Clara." He sounded so happy to see me.

He pulls the gag out of my mouth. "Oh Bo. I'm so glad to see ya."

He coughs as he pulls his knife out and cuts away at the ropes. "I'm glad that you're still alive." He gets all the ropes cut. I pull the gag off from around my neck. "Now come on. This place is goin' to burn to the ground."

I lift myself up but fall to the ground. I touch my legs and they are numb. I quickly try to look at Bo. "I can't walk or stand Bo."

He runs to me. He kneels beside me. "Are ya sure?" I nod my head. We both cough. He puts an arm under my legs and the other around my torso. He lifts me up and runs to the door. I suddenly feel a blast of heat. "Wait. We can't go that way. The fire is gettin' closer." I cough more.

I look up at him and he's looking around. "Is there a window?"

"Yah. Opposite the door."

He turns around and runs us to the window. He uses one of his hands to open the window. He leans over and looks out. "You're not thinking of jumpin' are ya? We're too far up."

"There's a big pile of hay underneath. It will help our fall."

"You have to be crazy. We've only jumped into piles from a tree that was only a few feet above the ground. Never from a second story window."

"Would ya rather get injured from the fall or burn to death?"

I think for a minute. "Fine." He has a point.

He climbs through the window and sit on the ledge. "I'm goin' to count to 3." I nod. "1... 2... 3!"

He jumps and I try and get myself closer to him and close my eyes. It seems to take forever but was only a few seconds before I feel the hay scratch every part of my body. I open my eyes once I know we stopped moving. We're surrounded by hay.

"Uh, Bo." I get out realizing something.

"What?" He asks.

"Isn't hay able to catch on fire?"

"Yah."

"And aren't we beside a burnin' house?"

He's quiet for a minute. "You're right."

He grabs hold of me again and quickly climbs out of the hay and away from the house. Once we're a few feet away, he stops and sits me on the ground. He gives me a smile and I smile back.

"Bo!", "Bo!", "Bo!" I hear being yelled. They all sounded familiar.

"Over here!" He yells back to them.

I look at the house and see everyone running around the house. I see Luke and Cooter first, then Daisy, and lastly Grandma and Uncle Jesse.

"Clarabelle!" Grandma yells. She runs faster and gets to us before everyone else. She drops to her knees in front of me and hugs me.

"Grandma." I say. I'm happy she wasn't hurt.

"I thought they already killed ya. I was so ready to give up the money though."

"I'm so glad ya didn't." She pulls away and has tears in her eyes.

Everyone else finally makes it to us. I try moving my legs but get no progress. The only things I can move are my feet and toes. I look up at Bo. "I can move my feet now Bo."

He bends down beside me. "That's great."

"What do ya mean you can move your feet?" Luke asks.

"They had my legs tied so that I couldn't move them around. They just need to get blood moving through them again."

"Then let's get ya home and get ya checked out by Doc. Appleby. You too Bo." Grandma says.

"Why would you want us to?" Bo asks.

"You both breathed in quite a bit of smoke. I want to make sure you're both alright."

"Fine." He says under his breath.

"Luke, can ya bring Clara to my truck?" She asks.

"Sure." He picks me up like Bo was and we all walk to the cars.

"Don't worry Clara; your car is at your house." Cooter tells me as he walks beside us.

I hold my hand out and he takes it. "Thanks Coot."

"No problem." He gives me a big smile.

We get to the cars and Luke walks over to Grandma's truck. I open the passenger door for him and he sits me in. "Thanks." I give him a smile.

He smiles back at me. "Bo!" Grandma yells. I look over and see that Bo was starting to get into the driver's seat of the General Lee. "You're comin' with me!"

"How come?" He yells back.

"You're goin' to be checked out too! Might as well come with me!" Bo hangs his head a second and gets out. We all know no to argue with Grandma. I scoot to the middle and Bo gets in. I try and move my legs again and everything below my knee moves. I look up at Bo and he is smiling along with me. Grandma gets in and we head home.

She grabs the CB mic in front of me after we drove for a few minutes. "Breaker one, breaker one. This here is Catherine tryin' to get hold of Doc Appleby. Ya listenin' out there Doc?" She waits a minute.

"Uh, Grandma." I say.

"Yah?" She looks at me.

"Ya might want to turn the CB on first." I reach down and turn it on.

"I knew it was off. I just wanted to see if ya knew." She blushes a little. Bo and I laugh. She never wants to admit when she does something silly like that. "Breaker one, breaker one. This here is Catherine tryin' to get hold of Doc Appleby. Ya listenin' out there Doc?" She gives Bo and I a look that told us to stop laughing. I look at Bo and he tries to hold it in. I do the same thing.

"Doc Appleby here Catherine. Whatcha need?" Doc Appleby's voice comes over the CB.

"Yah, can ya meet me at my house? Clara and Bo need to see ya."

"How come?" He asks.

"I just want to make sure they're okay."

"Okay. I'll be there in 5 minutes."

"All righty. I'm gone." She puts the mic back and we drive home is silence. When we get there Doc Appleby is waiting in his car for us.

Grandma and Bo get out and I scoot to the edge of the seat. "Are they back to normal now?" Bo asks.

I move my legs around and move so my feet were on the ground. I put all my weight on them and try to stand. I wait a minute and look up at Bo. I give him a big smile. "I can stand."

"How about walk?"

I take a step forward and I stay standing. I move the other and nothing changes. I do it some more and I keep standing. "I can walk."

"That's great." He smiles and gives me a hug. "Come on. Let's get inside so we can make Grandma feel better."

"Okay." He keeps an arm around me and we walk inside to join Grandma and Doc Appleby. I look at the clock and its noon. I lay a hand on my stomach. I haven't eaten since the night before. We sit down on the couch in the room. Doc Appleby walks over to us.

"Clara, would ya please go to your bedroom." Grandma tells me.

"Yes ma'am." I stand up and walk down the hallway to my room.

I walk in and breathe out a sigh of relief. I kick my boots off and sit on my bed. I run my hand through my hair but stop half way. I grab something and pull it out. I look at it and laugh. I had hay in my hair. I get up and walk to my mirror. I dig out all of the hay and throw them in the trash. I walk over and lay on my bed. I hear a knock at the door.

"Come in." I say.

Doc Appleby comes in. "Hey Clara. How ya doin'?"

I sit up. "I'm much better. Did Grandma tell ya what happened?"

"She sure did." He sits at the foot of the bed. "I want to check your legs and make sure they are fine."

"Okay." I roll up my pant legs as Doc pulls out a sowing needle.

He pocks around my legs. "Could ya feel all of that?"

"Sure could." I give him a smile.

"Okay. Now I just want to check your lungs and see how they sound."

I nod. I turn around and pull up my shirt. I sit up straight as he puts the stethoscope on my back. I flinch as the cold metal touches my skin. I take deep breaths each time he moves it. He takes it off and I hear him put in his bag. I pull down my shirt and face him.

"Your lungs sound great. You are completely healthy. I think that ya just need some rest."

"Thanks Doc."

He stands up and walks over to the door. "I'll tell your grandma not to disturb you and to wake ya up in a few hours."

"All right." He walks out and closes the door behind him.

I reach over and turn the light out. I lay my head on my pillow and close my eyes. _Just a normal day in Hazzard. Just a normal day. _ I say to myself in my head till I fall asleep.

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><p><strong>So there it is. She's safe. She also handled it really well. She sure is a Duke. Hope ya'll liked it. Can't promise when the next chapter will be up. Review please. :)<strong>


	3. Mud and 32 Car Jump

**So here is the next chapter. I'll give ya guys a little hint. There is mud wrestling involved. At least if you want to call it that.**

**I don't own Dukes of Hazzard.**

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><p>"Clara. It's time to wake up." I hear being said softly.<p>

I open my eyes and see Grandma kneeling in front of me.

"Good, you're awake now. It's time to get up. You've been asleep for 6 hours now."

"Really?" I yawn and sit up.

"Yah. If you're up to it, we can go over to the farm for dinner."

"That would be nice." I look down and see that I had my blanket over me. Grandma stands up and helps me out of bed.

"Let's get ya cleaned up before we go." She gives me her famous loving and caring smile.

"Okay." She leads me into the bathroom. She wets a wash cloth and starts wiping off my face. I feel like I'm a toddler again. I reach for her hand and stop her. "I'm fine Grandma. I'm a grown woman. I can do this by myself."

She lays the wash cloth in my hand. "Sorry sweetie. It just seems like long ago."

"I guess it does." I give her a smile and she walk out. I finish what she was doing and walk back to my room. I grab my brush off my dresser and brush out my tangled hair. Once I'm done, I fix my clothes and put my boots on. I walk out to the living room to find Grandma with my bag in her lap. She sees me and stands up.

"Cooter brought it with the truck. Everything is still in there. Even your Polaroid."

I give her a big smile. "Great."

"Let's head out." She says. She grabs the keys to the truck and we head outside. We climb on in and cruse through the country side. It's beautiful this time of year. It's the end of March and that means that spring had come. And that my birthday is almost here. We get to the farm and Bo and Luke are outside finishing chopping some wood. Grandma turns the truck off and we both get out.

"Ya made it." Bo says as he puts his shirt back on.

"Yep. One piece." I smile. I lay my bag on the porch.

"Well come on in. Food will be done soon." Luke says. He and Grandma walk to the door. Bo follows them.

"Bo." He stops and turns to me. "Can I talk to ya alone?"

"Yah." He walks off the porch and stands in front of me. I make sure that Luke and Grandma were inside. "What's up?"

"I wanted to thank ya for saving me. And taking the risk of dying in a fire."

"It was nothing."

I quickly get on my tippy toes and kiss him on the cheek. "I thought ya deserved it for what ya did."

"That's so sweet." We turn our heads and see that Luke was on the porch with my camera in his hand and a picture. "I think everyone would like to know that the great Clarabelle gave in to _the_ Bo Duke."

"Give me that Luke." I start to walk to him.

"I just can't do that." He steps off the porch and gives me my camera but keeps the picture out of my reach.

"Give it Luke." Bo says. He starts to attack Luke. I quickly move out of their way. They suddenly fall to the ground into a mud puddle. I quickly take a few pictures. I look at them as they fight and realize one of them looks like they are asleep while hugging each other. I start laughing and they stop to look at me.

"What is it?" Bo asks.

"This picture." I wave it at them. "Looks like ya two are huggin' each other while sleeping in the mud. Now this will be shown to everyone." I give them a big smile.

"I'll trade ya." Luke says holding up the picture of me and Bo. It was covered in mud.

"I would but the picture you have is unusable. Sorry." I start walking to the porch and pick up my bag as I put my camera in it.

"Come back here." They both say getting up.

"Now don't try and follow me into the house. I don't think Uncle Jesse and Daisy would enjoy having mud all over the house." I give them a little smirk and walked into the house putting the pictures in my back pocket. Jesse, daisy and Grandma look at me as I take a seat at the table by the door.

"Is everything okay out there?" Jesse asks.

"Oh just great. Bo and Luke are having a bit of play time in the mud." I smile knowing what they were really doing even though it's close.

The door opens and the guys are soaking wet with a little bit of mud still on them. Everyone gasps when they see them but I just smile.

"You boys need to change out of those clothes and get the rest of that mud off." Grandma orders them.

"Yes ma'am." They say as they give me grim looks. I keep smiling at them. They walk out of the kitchen and I wait till I hear the shower turn on.

"I'll be right back." I say as I get up. I run outside and to the truck. I open the passenger door and pull out the pictures. I slip them between the cushion and the foundation to the seat. I pull my hand out and look at the spot. It looks like it is all together but I'm the only one that knows it's not. So that makes it the perfect spot to hide it. I close the door and run back inside. I take my seat and the shower is still running. That means that they won't know.

A few minutes later they come out in fresh clothes and their hairs still wet. They both look at me.

"Give it." Bo says walking over to him.

"Give ya what?" I ask trying not to smile.

"The picture." Luke says.

"What picture?"

"Stand up." I comply and stand up. I pull out my front pockets to show that there is nothing in them and then I pull at my back ones so they can see that they're empty.

"I can't believe it." Bo says.

"I bet it's in her bag."

I grab it and lay it on the table. "Go ahead and look. You'll find nothing."

Bo gives me a look and looks through it. I hands it to me when he's done and sits down at the table on the opposite side that I'm sitting at. He shakes his head at Luke and he sits beside Bo. I shake my head at them and lay my bag on the ground beside my chair. Daisy sits beside me as Grandma bring the food to the table.

The guys say nothing the whole way through dinner. They are so mad at me. They'll be better tomorrow. Once dinners done we all just sit around in the living room.

"Remember the biggest jump the guys ever did?" Daisy says.

"Oh yah. The 32 cars." Grandma says.

That was a pretty interesting day. I can remember it so clearly.

_I stand by Cooter as we watch Bo drive to where he was going to start his drive to the ramp to jump the 32 cars. I don't want Bo to do this but - he wants to. It's all because of Diana who runs the Carnival of Thrills. She has Bo wrapped around her finger. None of us want Bo to do the jump but we all know that he is old enough to make his own decisions. We're just really worried because the last few jumpers have crashed. Suddenly a car stops in front of Bo and Luke jumps out. I look up at Cooter and he has a confused face also. He looks at me._

_"Should we go and see?" He asks._

_"I think so." He nods and we both run to join Bo, Luke, Jesse, Daisy, Diana, and some man in a suit._

_We make it as Jesse stops the guys from fighting. "Bo, let Luke have a minute to explain everything."_

_"Fine." He huffs. Diana wraps an arm around him and he does the same to her._

_"Bo ya know that the other drivers that have done this haven't made it. Ya want to know how they all decided to do this? Just ask her." He nods to Diana. "She wooed them like she has you."_

_"Luke that is not true!" He yells. "Diana tell him."_

_Her face goes grim. "Your cousin's right Bo." She says softly._

_He looks down at her. "What?"_

_Her eyes are watery. She looks up at Bo. "I had to. I need to get the money so that I could pay off Boss or he would take over." Boss and Rosco come running up to us, joining in the whole thing that was probably confusing everyone. "But I started to actually like you. Now I don't feel like I did. I actually feel something."_

_Bo started to get teary eyed. "Ya just used me."_

_Diana opens her mouth to tell Bo something but Luke starts talking again. "We also figured out why they didn't complete the jump. Someone cut the fuel line." Cooter and I look at him is shock. "Coot, Clara, go ahead and look."_

_We nod and turn toward the General. Cooter pops the hood and I go straight to the fuel line. I grab it and unhook it. I stay leaned over the engine as I bend the line. Sure enough there is a clean cut in it. I straighten up and turn to Cooter. "Luke's right."_

_I hand it to him. He checks it out and turn toward everyone to show them. "It's true."_

_"Who would do that?" Bo asks._

_"Someone who was the first star, but now has to watch as other guys do what he should have done." Luke says._

_"Who would that be?" I ask._

_"Carl."_

_"Carl?" Diana asks. She looked like she didn't want to believe him._

_"Yes." Luke says sounding a little sorry for her._

_"Wow." I say. I suddenly remember something. "He did it about half an hour ago. I saw the General's hood up and I thought it was you Cooter." I look at him._

_"There he is." Daisy says as she points. We look and see him. He looked horrified. He had to have heard us 'cause he started to run._

_Luke runs after him. Bo starts to follow but Jesse stops him. I look back at him and see Luke tackle him. _Yes. _I say to myself. Luke stands up and pulls Carl up with him. He brings him over to Rosco. "There ya go Rosco. Ya can cuff him n' stuff him."_

_"Jit jit. What fun." Rosco straps the cuffs on him and starts to walk him to the cruiser._

_"I'll come with you." The man in the suit says. "It was great working with you Dukes. And I enjoyed the jump."_

_"Bye." Luke, Daisy and Jesse say._

_"What am I going to do now without the main attraction?" Diana says. She must think that Bo's not going to do the jump._

_"Cooter, Clara. Ya think you guys can change that line?"_

_"Sure. In no time at all." Cooter says._

_"Well fix it. The jump is still on." Luke says. I think something is wrong with him._

_"Luke?" Bo gets out._

_"I'm goin' to be sitting right next to you cousin." He says as he points to Bo. He looks over at Uncle Jesse and Daisy. "If I'm there, he can concentrate on the ramp."_

_Daisy looks at him like he's crazy. "Luke, I don't know whether to kill ya or kiss ya." She gets a smile on her face. "So I guess I'll kiss ya."_

_She jumps at him and kisses him on the cheek. He looks back at Cooter who had just finished fixing the line. "Let's get this car out of the way."_

_We both nod to him and run to the car. Luke had left the keys in, so we jumped in and drove it out of the way. Cooter turns it off and we get out and join Jesse and Daisy in front of the stands. I watch the General as Diana announces the guys._

_They suddenly drive forward and pick up speed as they get closer and closer to the ramp. I look at Cooter and see him look at the cut fuel line. I wrap my arm around him to make him feel better. He does the same to me. Suddenly the General Lee hits the ramp and is soaring in the air above the cars. It seemed like they were in slow-mo as they were making it past all the cars. They touch down and keep driving. The crowd roars with cheer because they made it. Daisy, Cooter, Jesse, and I join them. I can't believe they made it._

_I let go of Cooter and run the where the guys have stopped. They were surrounded by tons of people. I try to see and opening to get to them. I notice that no one was at the front of the General. I run there and jump on the hood. The guys look at me and their smiles get bigger. I walk closer to them and hug each of them. No one would have ever thought that they would have made it. But they did. They're Dukes. They get into trouble but can also do some of the coolest thing ever._

"Clara? Ya okay?" I hear Jesse ask.

I look at him. I was looking at the ground as I was thinking of the memory. I get a smile on my face. "Yah. I'm perfect."

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><p><strong>Hope ya like. I'm sorry if the scene from "Carnival of Thrills" is not like in the show. I didn't want to wait for it to be shown on TV. I tried to keep some parts the same and I have the same character names. Had a little help from my friends at HazzardNet. I love ya all. And I really hope ya do like this because I had to rewrite part of it. All because of the slip of a finger. I had so much done. So know I'm just going with what I remember because I'm in computer class and I don't want to watch the video I found on YouTube and I don't want to wait a few hours till I get home. So I just hope ya'll enjoyed what I had.<strong>


	4. Romeo and Juliet

**So this chapter will be interesting to ya'll. I will say that our English class just ended Romeo and Juliet and that's in my head as I'm writing this. So be warned.**

**I don't own Dukes of Hazzard.**

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><p>I had to go to Atlanta today to get a part for my car. I need to head to the farm so the guys can help me. I drive down the same boring road with the local radio station on.<p>

"Clara, this is Luke. Ya listening out there?" I hear Luke's voice over the radio. I turn it down and grab the mic.

"I'm here Luke."

"Great, you're back. I just wanted to tell ya that Bo and I had to run into town and won't be back till after you get there."

"Thanks for telling me Luke. See ya when ya get back. I'm gone." I put the mic back and turn the radio back up.

I see a car pulled to the side of the road and a woman in sitting on the back bumper. I slow down and stop beside her. I turn off the car and move to the passenger seat. "Ya okay?" I ask with my head out the open window.

"My car just broke down." She said.

"I can call the local mechanic and have him come and get your car."

"I would be much obliged."

I pull my head back in the car and grab the mic. "This here is a wondering pedestrian looking for the local mechanic. Ya listening out there Coot."

"I'm right here what's goin' on?"

"I came across a young lady here that needs her car towed and looked at."

"Okay. What road?"

"Turpin, just past Red."

"Okay. Do I need to bring the lady with me?"

"Let me see." I lean my head out of the window. "Yah want him to take ya to town or would ya like me to?"

"I'd rather go now, so with you."

I give her a smile. I pull my head in and speak into the mic. "I'm takin' her into town."

"Alright. I'll get it in a bit. I'm gone." I put the mic down and open the passenger door.

"He's on his way. Hop on in."

She grabs a suitcase and I help her put it in the back seat. She gets in and I change directions to head into town. I see out of the corner of my eye that the lady kept looking back over her shoulder.

"Are ya scared of someone?" I ask. "Are ya in some kind of trouble?"

"No." She says confidently. I look at her face and can tell that she's lying to me. I have to see if she will tell me anything that is true.

"What's your name?" I ask real sweet. Maybe she'll think that I'm trustworthy.

She says nothing for a minute like she is trying to think of something. "Lucy."

Her voice didn't sound confident. I slow down and pull the car off to the side of the road. I then turn the car off and look at her. "That's not your real name."

She looks at me like I have two heads. "Yah it is."

"I know that you're not telling me the truth. And trust me; I've been through a lot of situations. And how you're actin', I can tell that you are runnin' away from something." I lay my hand on her hands that were held in her lap. "You can trust me. Hazzard is small but I can keep stuff hidden from everyone if you want me to."

She looks out the window and I see a tear escape her eye. She looks back at me. "Okay. My name is Heather. I'm running from my parents."

"What'd ya do?"

"They want me to marry this guy but I'm already married."

"I think I can help you with all that." I pause for a second. I couldn't help her by myself. "But I need some of my friends to join me. I promise that they won't say a thing. They've been though a lot of this with me and ... they can help so much."

She looks at me. I can see her wondering if what I said was true. "Okay."

I pull my hands back and grab the CB mic. "Good. I just need to tell Cooter, who's the mechanic in town that you're goin' to be with me and for him to meet me at the farm."

She nods to me. I turn and start the car. I turn back around again and tell Cooter to meet me at the farm. I had to help her. I couldn't let her go through this. She doesn't seem to have done anything productive. We get to the farm and we just sit in the car.

"Where is everyone?" She asks.

"Luke and Bo are in town and should be back soon." I see Jesse's truck but not Daisy's jeep. I think for a second and remember that she won't be back from work for another few hours. "Jesse must be in the fields and Daisy's at work. Cooter will be her soon."

I look over at Heather and realize that she hasn't told me everything. I look away knowing that she won't tell me the rest till everyone's here. We sit in an awkward silence till I see the General in my mirror.

"Stay here." I tell her. I get out and lean against the car as Bo parks the General beside Jesse's truck. I walk over as they get out.

"Hey. Who's that with ya?" Bo asks.

"She's someone that needs help."

"What's wrong?" Luke asks.

"She says she's running from her parents."

Bo moves closer to me and faces away from Heather. "Why?"

I give him a strange look. He has to hide what he says. "Her parents want her to marry this guy but she is already secretly married."

The both take glances at her. "Really?" they ask in unison.

I roll my eyes. I turn and walk to my car. I put my head through the window. "You can get out. Come and meet the guys." She looks at me for a minute but doesn't move. "Don't worry. They won't hurt you in any way or rat you out."

She looks at me for a second more then gets out. She's like a child that is in a completely new place with complete strangers. She walks around the car and I walk along with her to the guys.

"Bo, Luke, this is Heather. Heather, this is Bo and Luke." The guys hold their hands out and Heather just looks at them, like she thinks they're going to bite her. She finally reaches out and shakes them.

"Nice to meet you." She gets out.

"Boys, ya home yet?" I hear Uncle Jesse yell.

"Yah, we're over here!" Luke yells.

I hear Cooter's tow truck. I turn around and see that it was him. Uncle Jesse joins us as Cooter turns off the truck. "Who's this beautiful young lady?" Uncle Jesse asks.

"Uncle Jesse, this is Heather. Heather this is Jesse. He's Bo and Luke's uncle."

"Hello Heather."

"Hi." she says shyly.

"So this is the lady that had the troubled car?" Cooter joins us.

"Yes."

"Lets all go inside so we can talk." I say. I lead everyone into the house and we sit in the kitchen. I sit with Heather on one side of the table as Luke and Bo sit on the other. Cooter and Jesse sit at either end of the table. "Will you please tell me now about what's wrong? And is detail."

She looks down at the table then at me. "Well... John and I have been in love for years now. And when my parents said that they found a guy they approved of for me, I ran to John and told him. He then proposed to me and we ran off and eloped. We came back and we acted like nothing happened. We didn't want anyone to find out till we could think of something. Then Ken, who is the guy my parents approve of, proposed to me. I had to say yes for my parent's sake but I knew that I couldn't marry him when I was already married." She pauses and looks at everyone else, then looks back at me. "I couldn't tell my parents yet. I don't think I ever could. So I ran to find a way and a place where I could be with John. So that's why I'm here in Hazzard."

Tears start to overfill her eyes. I lean toward her and hug her. "Don't worry, we'll help you."

I look across the table and see Luke was thinking.

"Romeo and Juliet." I hear him say under his breath.

"What?" I ask making sure I heard him right. I pull away from Heather and turn toward Luke.

He looks up at me and I can tell he has a plan. "Romeo and Juliet." He says so we all could hear.

I look at him for a minute. I rack my brain for stuff from high school. We studied it then. "Luke, I thought I didn't have to think about it anymore when we finished it in school." Bo says.

Suddenly it clicks. Juliet faked her death. "Do you really think it would work Luke? I mean, how would we do that?"

"What are ya two talkin' about?" Cooter asks.

"In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet fakes her death so that she can be with Romeo without worrying about their parents." I say.

"And I think this will work for Heather."

"But how are we goin' to find some poison that does that?"

"We're just goin' to have to do it our own way." I smile at him. This is going to be interesting.

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><p>"Do you really think this will work?" Heather asks. We are in a empty room at the Funeral Home. There are two caskets in the room with us. Luke and Bo are making sure one of them is filled so that it seemed like a body was in it.<p>

"I'm positive." Luke says. We were all in our best clothes. Daisy and I even lent some things to Heather.

"I'm just not real sure about all of this. What if John doesn't realize that I'm not actual dead and kills himself like in the play?" She looks extremely nerves.

I pull her into a hug. "Don't worry. Cooter left yesterday to talk to him. You won't end up like them in the play."

"You all have been so nice to me. I don't think I could ever repay you."

"Well you don't have to." Bo walks over to us. "This is what we do. And we're always happy to help a friend."

She gives him a shy smile. "Thanks Bo. Thank you all."

We all smile. I hear the door open and Bo and I move in front of Heather so no one can see her. Daisy then pokes her head in. Bo and I don't move in case there is someone around her. "Time for the show." She says.

"Then come in and close the door." Luke says as he moves to the door.

She walks in and closes the door. We all walk over to the empty casket. Heather looks at all of us. "Don't worry." I mouth to her. She looks at me for a second and looks a little more confident. She steps in with the help of Bo and Luke and she lies down. Daisy hands her a bouquet of flowers.

"Just remember. No sounds and when we do three taps on the casket, you will have to hold your breath and hope that you won't have to hold it long." I remind her.

"Okay."

"I'll get Jesse and Cooter." Bo leaves the room.

We all wait in silence as Bo returns with Cooter and Jesse. Each of the guys grabs a handle on each side of the casket. I give heather one last smile and gently close the lid. Daisy and I walk out the door and the guys follow. We all walk outside to where everyone has gathered. I see Heather's parents talking to Miz Tisdale. They are looking around and their eyes lock on me. They say something to Miz Tisdale and walk to me.

"Hello. Are you someone that was with Heather when she died?" The man asks.

"Yes. I'm Clarabelle. I'm so sorry for the loss of your daughter. She was a really great person." I act like I'm sad about all this.

"She was. Do you know when we can take her body back home?" Her mother asks.

I give her a strange look. "Ya can't take her body home."

"Why not?" Her father asks sounding demanding.

"Ya see. When she moved here... she realized that she wanted to be cremated when she dies. Then have her ashes spread where ever you guys want to."

They both look at me crazy. "You're lying." Her mother said.

"I'm not. She has it in writing." They looked like they wanted argue with me. "You would want to go against what your daughter wished, right?"

They glared at me for a minute but finally relaxed. I'm doin' some real good shuck n' jives. "Can we at least see her on last time?" The man asks.

I look over at the casket that was now covered with flowers and a sheet. I look back at them and see tears in their eyes. "Sure."

We slowly walk over to the casket. I catch Luke's eyes and I could tell that he was wondering if I could show Heather to them myself or not. I nod my head slightly so only he could see it. He looks away and I continue to walk to the casket. We reach it and move the fabric that was over upper half of it. I grab the lid and lay my thumb on the side. I slowly tap the wood once, then two more times. I wait a second then slowly lift the lid. I move to the side and hold it up. Heather's parents move closer and her mother reaches for her.

"Don't!" She jerks her hand back. "We prefer her not to be touched. And it would just make you even sadder."

She keeps looking at Heather and tears start running down her face. She moves closer to her husband who also has some tear escaping his eyes. "Thank you." He weakly gets out. They both turn and walk away. I lower the lid and fix the fabric. I turn to find Jesse standing beside me.

"It's time." He tells me. I nod and walk to the very back of all the chairs that were lined up. "If everyone could please take your seats! We are ready to begin!"

Cooter joins me as Bo, Luke, and Daisy take their seats in the front row. After everyone sits, Jesse begins with a prayer. Once he starts talk I notice John sitting at the end of the last row of chairs.

"Cooter?" I stand on my tiptoes so I could get closer to his ear. He tilts his head to help me. "Did ya ever get a hold of John?"

"No."

I sigh heavily. "Good goin' Coot."

"What?" I don't even answer. I walk over to John and move my head real close to his ear.

"Are ya John?" I whisper very quietly so he wouldn't jump. He nods his head. "Can I talk to ya in private for a second?"

I straighten up and he stand to join me. I lead him into the Funeral Home and into the room that we have the empty casket.

"Who are ya?" He asks when I close the door.

"My name is Clarabelle. I know Heather."

"Did she ever mention me? Did she tell ya about everything?"

"She did and we're helpin' her right now."

He looked confused. "What do ya mean 'we' and 'helping her right now'?"

"Heather isn't dead. She's alive and no one else knows except for me, you, and the Dukes and Cooter who are helping Heather also."

He still looks at me like I'm crazy. "She's dead. I saw her body in the casket when ya showed her parents."

I step closer to him and lay my hand on his shoulder. "Look, for her to be able to be with ya, we figured out that she would need to fake her death. And then you won't have to worry about her parents. You guys could move anywhere and be together." He still looks at me like I'm lying. I take my hand off and walk to the casket. I open the lid and move to show him. "Now look, this casket is full of paper. Just enough to equal the weight of Heather."

He moves closer and looks inside. "Now this will be the casket that gets burned. Then the ashes will go home with Heather's parents. When we bring the casket with Heather in here, we'll switch them out and this one will be taken. Now if ya don't believe me, just wait till this is all over and we'll show ya that see ain't dead."

He looks down at the casket again and back at me. "Okay. I won't believe ya till she's in my arms."

I give him a smile and close the casket. My eye catches the clock. "Stay in here. Jesse's almost done, then we'll bring the casket in here." I run to the door. I open it but turn back to face John. "I promise ya that she's alive. You'll see in just a few minutes." I walk out and close the door behind me. I run out of the building and back to Cooter.

"Where's John?" He asks me.

"He's in the room waiting to see if Heather is really dead or not." I look up at him. "But he wouldn't be waitin' there if ya tried harder to get a hold of him. If I never saw him, we could have ended up like the play where he kills himself because he thinks she's dead and then she might kill herself."

"I'm sorry. Okay? I didn't know how the play ends, so I didn't know what might have happened." I just roll my eyes and try to get tears in my eyes again.

Right after I get a few tears to leave my eyes, Jesse finishes the funeral. Cooter and I walk to the front and join the others. Luke, Bo, Jesse, and Cooter take their spots again and walk the casket into the building. We follow them and we all walk into the room to make the switch. Once the door is closed and the casket is layed down, Luke opens the lid and Heather sits up in an instant.

"Heather!" John yells.

She turns her head and smiles real big. "John!"

John runs to her and they embrace each other. "Will ya two be quiet?" Bo yells at them in a whisper. "We don't want anyone to hear."

"Sorry." They both say with grins.

"Come on; let's get this casket so it can get burned." Luke says. They run over and quickly get the casket moved out of the room. Daisy goes outside to see when everyone is gone. I smile as I watch Heather and John talk. That is defiantly love.

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><p>"I don't know how we can repay ya'll." John says. We all just finished eating lunch outside.<p>

"Ya don't have to. We're always willing to help a friend." Daisy says.

"And besides, I think this was one of our best shuck n' jives ever." Bo adds.

"I will second that." Luke says.

"All in favor of this bein' one of the best shuck n' jives Dukes, Davenports, and Sandells have ever done, say 'Yee-haw'." I say as I raise my glass.

"Yee-haw!" Everyone says and their glasses join mine. I lower mine and take a drink. Everyone does the same. We all laugh. It has definitely been a good time.

"Sweetie, we should get goin' so we can get some land covered before nightfall." John stands up and walks to his car. Heather and I stand up and we slowly walk to the car.

"Now ya write me when ya get settled. And I want ya to keep in touch. I don't want to miss anythin'." We both chuckle.

"Don't worry, I won't. Just as long as ya keep me up to date with everything here."

"I won't." I hug her and open the car door for her. "Ya both be safe."

"We will." I close the door and wave as they drive off.

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><p><strong>How was that? Told ya there would be some Romeo and Juliet in it. I will say that this is how I think the play should have ended, with everyone still alive. But it's still something that the Dukes would get pulled into.<strong>

**Now don't forget to review. Another chapter will be up soon.**


	5. Grandma's little plan

**I don't own the Dukes.**

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><p>"I'm back Grandma!" I walk in the back door and lay my camera on the counter beside it.<p>

"How was the photo session?" She asks walking into the room.

I sit on the kitchen counter and look at the ground. "It was okay. It seems like a lot of people are gettin' married. This was my 5th one this week."

"It's spring. It gets to everyone." She says walking to the sink. "And will ya please get off the counter. Ya know that you're not allowed to be up there and I'm more than happy to have my hand meet your behind again."

I chuckle and jump off. "Okay, sorry." I sit at the table. "So what's for dinner?"

"Pizza."

"Great." Suddenly there is a knock at the door. "What timin'."

She walks to the door and comes back with a big pizza box. "That's a large box there. We havin' company over? We normally don't have a large pizza."

She lays the box on the counter and lifts the lid. "Luke's comin' over."

"Why?" I get up and grab three plates out of the cabinet.

"Since Daisy and Jesse are in Tallahassee and Bo's helpin' some friends in Kentucky, I figured he wouldn't want to spend dinner by himself."

"Alrighty then." I hear the General's horn outside and walk to the door. I open it up and see Luke get out of the passenger's seat. "What a nice surprise! Ya bring me anything special?" I yell to him.

"Sorry but I must have left it at home!" He runs up to the door. "But I hope ya will take a hug and kiss."

"I always do." We give each other a hug and kiss each other on the cheek. I move for him to come in and I close the door and join him and Grandma in the kitchen. We all get some pizza and sit at the table.

"How are ya handlin' over at the farm Luke since you're the only on there?" Grandma asks.

"It's been fine. I enjoy the quiet every once and a while." I smile. We were a lot alike sometimes.

The phone rings and we all jump. Grandma gets up answers it. "Hello." She listens for a second. "Okay, I'll be right there." She hangs up the phone and turns to us.

"Who was that?" I ask.

"Is everything alright?" Luke asks.

"It's Widow Jameson. She needs some help with a couple of the animals."

"This late at night?" It seems quite late to be tending to them.

"Well she was checking on them and a few snuck out of their pens."

"Ya want us to come and help?" Luke asks getting ready to stand up.

"No, no. I think with the two of us, we can do it."

"Okay then." I take another bit of pizza. Something just doesn't seem right. She has a smirk on her face.

"I'll call if I'm goin' to be late or something comes up." She walks to the front door.

"Kay, love ya!"

"Love ya too." She walks out and I hear the truck start up.

I look over at Luke and he continues to eat. "There's somethin' up."

"What do ya mean?"

I open my mouth to answer but am interrupted by someone else talking. "Mother G. to Widow J. Ya listenin'?"

I give Luke a look and walk into the living room. The CB was on and turned up all the way. "Widow J. here. Did they fall for it?"

I sit in the chair beside the CB and give Luke another look. "Told ya."

"They sure did. And I'll let them have the rest of the evening to themselves."

"Great. I'd like to see them together. See ya when ya get here. I'm gone."

Luke and I look at each other and laugh. "Should we tell her?" Luke asks.

"Nah, she normally doesn't get away with things. Might as well let her this time." I get up and walk back to my pizza.

"I can't believe they think we look good together." Luke says as he sits down.

"I know. They are so weird." Luke takes a bit of his pizza but the cheese just keeps stretching and doesn't break. "Hold it. Don't break it." I reach over and grab my camera. "Say cheese."

We both laugh. I didn't realize how funny that was. I take a few pictures and sit it back down. "Ya really do keep your camera with ya at all times."

"No, no. Before ya came I got home from takin' some engagement pictures for Annabel and Hank. It just so happened that I never got it to my room. But I'm glad I didn't 'cause that was pretty funny."

"That was funny and good." We both laugh. "Remember when I found Bo and you wrestling in the barn?"

"That was funny to you. He stole my keys and I was getting them back."

"Yah, 'cause I walked in and ya were hanging off his back. I'm glad I found ya guys before either one of ya got hurt."

I roll my eyes at him. I get an evil grin on my face as I remember something that was funny to me but not him. "I guess but I know something that was really funny."

"What?"

"When ya had to get your wisdom teeth out."

"That was not funny."

"Oh yes it was. Ya were so scared and wouldn't let Uncle Jesse leave."

"I was 15. I didn't know what it would be like."

"So what was it that ya were doin' when ya needed your extra wisdom teeth out, huh? Ya just got back from Vietnam and ya were cryin' like a baby not wanting Jesse to leave for them to take them out."

I give me a death stare. "I was not acting like that." He protests.

I shake my head and give out a little chuckle. "Sure it wasn't."

We then keep arguing back and forth about what we thought was funny that has happened to the other person but wasn't funny to them. I end up getting the last thing out before the phone rings.

"It was not funny that mine and Bo's clothes got stolen." Luke says as I get up to walk to the phone.

"Oh I'm sorry, I'm wrong. It was funny when it happened a second time." I give him and smile as I answer the phone. He wanted to argue but he had to wait. "Hello?"

"Clara? It's me." Grandma says.

"Hey Grandma. How's it goin' over there?"

"It's okay. Need to stay a little longer. Are ya two surviving over there?"

I look at Luke and chuckle. "We're both alive. How late do ya think you'll be?"

"I don't know. I might end up staying here for the night."

"Okay. I guess I'll see ya tomorrow then."

"Alright. Night sweetheart."

"Night Grandma." I hang up the phone and sit back at the table. "Grandma's goin' to be late and might even stay the night."

"So we have to make sure we don't kill each other for the rest of the night."

"Yep." My eye catches the clock and it's actually midnight. "Wow. Time sure flies when you're having fun."

Luke looks at the clock. "I guess so."

I get up and grab one of our biggest plates to put the leftover pizza on. Luke's hand suddenly appears grabbing the plate from the top shelf. "Let me help." I look up at him. He had a look in his face that I don't really notice often. I quickly look away and grab the plate from him.

"Thanks." I lay the plate down and pile the pizza on.

"Ya done with your food?" I turn and see Luke holding my plate up with a half eaten piece of the pizza.

"Yah." He grabs his plate and tosses the remains in the trash. He then puts them in the sink and washes them. He always helps out when he's here. I kind of like that. I watch him as he washes our plates and the rest of the dishes without being asked. I shake my head and look away. I don't know what I'm thinking but I had to stop. Luke was like a brother to me. I grab some foil and cover the plate. I place it in the fridge and make sure that everything in it was fine. I stand up and close the door. I lift myself onto the counter beside it and watch Luke as he finishes the dishes.

"Ya know ya didn't need to do them all."

He dries off his hands and leans on the counter beside me. "I know. I just thought I'd help."

He is always helping. "Well thanks." We look around the room with what I think as an awkward silence. "So are ya goin' to head home or do ya just want to stay here?" I ask breaking the silence.

"I think it might be better to stay here. If that's alright with you."

"That's fine." I hop down. "I think Grandma just washed the set of clothes ya guys keep in the hall closet. I'll go and get your bed out."

I walk into the living room and move everything away from the couch. Since we don't have guest room, Grandma made sure we had a pull out couch that they could seep on. I pull off the cushions and pull at the metal bars. The bed unfolds and I make sure the legs are locked into place. I turn to grab some sheets but I stopped seeing Luke in his boxers.

"I was just about to get some sheets." I tell him. He lifts his hand and I see some sheets in it. "Oh. Ya want me to help?"

He chuckles. He walks closer to me and lays the sheets on the bed. "I think I can manage."

I feel like I'm blushing and I don't know why. "Night." He pulls me into a hug.

"Night." He says into my hair.

I pull away and give him a smile before I walk down the hall and into my room. I lie on my bed and look up at the ceiling after getting changed. I can't sleep because my mind is racing. I keep thinking about Luke in the living room. He looked so amazing without his shirt. I shake my head and bury my face into my pillow. I can't think about Luke like that. He's like my older brother. I slowly fall asleep as I push my thoughts deep into my brain to forget about them.

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><p>I suddenly wake up with heavy breathing. I pull my hair off my face and wipe off the sweat. I can tell today is going to be a hot day but I can tell that I'm changing. I had a dream that is not normal. It was about Luke and I couldn't continue with it. We were running away from Rosco on foot and finally hid from him. But we soon started to kiss. More than a little brother-sister kiss. I couldn't handle it. I push the covers off me and stand up. I open the door and walk to the living room to find Luke still sleeping. I move my hand to my mouth to hold in my laughs. He was sprawled out and the funniest thing was that he had his thumb in his mouth. I quietly walk to the kitchen and grab my camera that was still in there. I take a few pictures of him and take it to my room. I am going to have to keep them in case I had to black mail him. I walk back out and walk to the kitchen to start breakfast.<p>

Once the bacon hits the pan and the coffee starts to brew, I hear the bed creak in the living room. I then hear footsteps on the tile floor. I turn my head and see him walk toward me.

"You're finally awake." I say.

"Yah. I smelled somethin' good."

I laugh. "I just have bacon and coffee so far."

"Ya know I live for bacon and my coffee." I laugh more.

"Oh course. Can ya get the eggs for me?"

"Sure." He walks to the fridge and pulls out 5 eggs. He remembers how many I can eat. 3 for him and 2 for me. He lays them in a bowl beside the stove and grabs a plate for the bacon that was almost done. I give him a smile as I put the bacon on the plate. I crake 3 of the eggs into the pan still with the bacon grease in it. Luke leaves the room and comes back a minute later with some jeans on. I'm glad he did because I realize now that I was thinking about Luke as more than a brother. I give my head a little shake and return my mind to cooking Luke's eggs. Once they're done, I move the pan off the burner and grab a plate. I place the eggs on it and I start to cook mine. Luke grabs his plate and takes it to the table. He then gets out two mugs and pours the fresh coffee into it. He pulls out the milk and pours a little into one of them. He then adds a spoon full of sugar and stirs it. I shake my head again. He prepares my coffee for me. He grabs his cup that was filled with the straight coffee and sits at the table. Once my eggs are done, I put them on a plate and take it and the cup to the table. I sit across from Luke and start eating them.

"These are real good." Luke says.

"Thanks. But I'll say that I can't believe that ya drink your coffee straight." It seemed so gross.

"Everyone's different and this is just how I like it." I shake my head. I still think he's weird. I continue to eat my eggs and let my mind wonder. "Hey, do ya remember what happened when Bo beat up one of Daisy's boyfriends?"

I think for a minute. I start laughing when the memory comes back to me. "Oh I sure do. She hid all his clothes and replaced them with girly shirts and skirts. Oh I wouldn't even let him use the clothes ya guys keep here."

Luke starts to laugh and we are both about ready to fall to the floor. "Sounds like no one killed anyone." I look into the living room and see Grandma walking from the door.

I slowly breathe and bring my composure back. "Yes Grandma. Why would we kill each other?" I ask her since what she said sounded weird.

"Ya two act like brother and sister. That's what they do sometimes." She walks over to the coffee pot and pours some for herself. "I saw the bed out. Ya stay the night Luke?"

He looks at her and quickly finishes the eggs that are in his mouth. "Yes ma'am. It was late and I didn't feel like goin' home and sleepin' in the empty house."

"I understand. It is hard to sleep in a house that normally has a lot of people in it."

"Yes ma'am." Luke finishes and takes his plate to the sink.

Grandma grabs the plate from Luke. "I can do it Luke. You're a guest, ya don't have to."

"I'm not a guest Grandma." He pauses and looks at me then back at her. "I'm family and so are the rest of the Dukes."

I stand up and wrap my arms around him in a hug. "He's right Grandma. He's family and so are the others."

She lays the plate in the sink and looks back at us. Luke is hugging me back and my head lays on his chest. "You're right. I'm sorry Luke. Ya know I've always thought of ya as family."

"I know. I think I should get goin'. Bo's goin' to be home in a few hours and I still need to clean the house for tomorrow." He pulls away and walks into the living room. I follow him and he's putting his shirt on.

"Tell Bo that I'm glad he's back. And that it was boring without him here."

He turns to me with a smile on his face and chuckles. "I will." He pulls me into another hug. "See ya later."

"Okay." I pull away and follow him to the door. I stand in the door way and watch him drive off in the General. I close the door when he's out of site and go back to the kitchen to finish my breakfast.

"So." Grandma sits where Luke was. "Did anything special happen last night between ya two?"

I bit my bottom lip to keep from telling her that we heard her last night. "No. What would make you ask?"

"I don't know. I was just wonderin'." I shake my head as I finish my eggs.

I down my coffee and take the mug and plate to the sink. "I'm goin' to go get changed."

"Kay." I leave the room and grab Luke's dirty clothes on my way. I throw them in the hamper in my room and lay on my bed. I look over at the camera on my dresser and a smile grows on my face. I always have a fun time with Luke.

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><p><strong>Now that's interesting to see the new feeling that are coming out. Now ya just have to wait and see what happens next. Review please, I like the comments.<strong>


	6. Birthday Surprise

**It's been quite a while since I've updated. It's all because of finishing school, Sims 3, summer, and pure laziness.**

**I don't own Dukes of Hazzard.**

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><p>I finally get home after Cooter told me to clean the garage 5 minutes before it was time for me to leave. Grandma's truck was in the driveway which is nice to know. I park beside the truck, jump out and walk to the door. I unlock the door and step inside to find that there are no lights on. I walk into the kitchen and put my keys with the truck keys. I then notice a note under where the keys hang. I pick it up and realize that it was from Grandma.<p>

_I'm over at the farm helping Jesse. If you need me, just call or come over. ~ Grandma_

I put the note back where it was on the counter and I walk to the fridge. Of course she's there. I pull out the lemonade but stop when I hear the General Lee outside. I lay the container back in the fridge and walk to the front door. I open it and step out as Bo gets out of the General.

"Hey." He says as he walks by my car.

"Hey. Nice of ya to drop by."

"I was just in town and Grandma told me over the CB that she needed some help."

I let out a harsh laugh and roll my eyes. This is great. "Sorry to tell ya but she's not here."

He stops and gives me a look like I'm crazy. "Huh?"

"She's not here. She left a note saying she's at the farm."

He stares at me for a moment. He then gives me a look that I probably had. A look that said that we knew something was up. "Care for a trip?"

"I would love it." I close the door and follow Bo to the General. I climb in the passenger window and Bo speeds off to the farm.

We arrive and I just see Daisy's jeep and Jesse's truck. Bo parks behind the Jeep and we both get out. We walk to the back porch but there was no light coming out of the windows. I look at Bo and he looked as confused. He opens the door and gestures to let me in first. I step in and everything is dark. Once Bo is in we both walk to the doorway that connects the kitchen and living room. We both stop but I jump back when the lights turn on and people jump out of nowhere.

"Surprise!" They all yell.

I see Grandma, Jesse, Cooter, Luke and Daisy. Daisy and Grandma walk over carrying a cake. Bo and I look at it and I had to laugh. It said _'Happy Birthday Clara and Bo'_. They did a surprise birthday party.

"This is why you asked me to clean the garage before I was supposed to leave." I say when Cooter gets closer. He has a big smile on his face.

"Why don't we take this outside?" Jesse says over all of our small talk.

We all migrate to the picnic table outside. Luke and Bo get two chairs to put at each end while Jesse brings out the plates and forks. Grandma and Daisy lay the cake in the center and put candles in it. Bo and I stand on one side of the cake and let Grandma get a picture of us. Cooter then lights the candles and everyone sings happy birthday. We both pause after they finish singing then blow out the candles. Everyone cheers and claps once all the flames are out. Bo and I sit on one side of the table while Luke, Daisy and Cooter sit on the other. Grandma and Jesse then sit on the ends. They both serve the cake and we all start to eat.

"Remember when we all first met?" I ask as we start to eat.

"I remember like it was yesterday." Bo answered.

Grandma laughs. "You showed us that that you weren't a girly girl."

Everyone laughs. "I thought you would start crying when I saw Bo push you into the mud." Daisy said.

"So did I. I was ready to yell at him." Luke adds.

"Thanks a lot cousin." Bo tells Luke a little mad.

"You know, I haven't really heard the whole story." Cooter says.

"What?" Both Daisy and I say.

"Ya mean we've never told ya?" Jesse asked. Cooter nods his head.

"Well here's the story." Grandma says. I go into a flash back as she starts her story.

"_Where we going Grandma?" I asked sitting beside her in her truck with my doll lying in my lap._

"_Over to one of my friend's houses." She answered._

"_Can I keep dolly with me?" I ask holding my doll toward her._

"_I'm sorry sugar, but dolly needs to stay in the truck." I lay my doll between us a little sad. "Don't worry now sweetheart, you'll have company. My friend Jesse has a couple nephews and a niece living with him right now. His youngest nephew is your age and his other nephew and niece are a little older."_

_I don't say anything. I didn't like meeting new people when I was that young. We got to the farm that Jesse lived on and we both got out. Once I saw a man on the back porch, I hid behind Grandma's leg. As he got closer, I tried to hide more._

"_Looks like someone's not that friendly." He said._

"_I guess so. How ya doin'? Are the kids still handlin' it alright?" Grandma asked._

"_I'm better. And the kids still seem to be doin' alright." They both looked over towards the barn. The man then stoops down and is looking at me. "I don't bite sweetheart. Why don't ya come out so I can say hi?"_

_He seemed like he was alright so I step out from behind Grandma's leg and step a little closer to him._

"_My name's Jesse. What's yours?"_

"_Clarabelle." I said shyly._

_He holds out a hand. "It's nice to meet ya."_

_I grab his hand and shake it. "It's nice to meet you too."_

"_See, I'm not all that scary am I?" I shake my head no. "Now why don't ya go an' introduce yourself to my niece and nephews."_

"_Okay." I say shyly._

_I walk over towards the barn where there were two people by a bike and one covered in mud. The tall one looks over to where I was standing and smiles. "Hello there. I'm Luke Duke. Who might you be?"_

"_Clarabelle."_

"_It's nice to meet ya." He holds his hand out and I shake it. "Over here is my cousin Daisy." He points to a girl by the bike. "And this is my other cousin, Bo." He points to the boy covered in mud._

"_It's nice to meet all of you." I say as Luke walks back to the bike and Daisy. I walk a little closer to Bo who was stepping away from a mud pile. "Hi."_

"_Hi." He says back before he pushes me into the mud pile. I scream a little as I fall._

_I see Grandma and Jesse run over toward us. Mud was splattered all over my dress and was in my hair. "What happened?" Grandma asks._

"_Bo pushed Clarabelle into the mud." Luke says. He looked like he was going to say more but him and everyone else look at me. I was giggling and couldn't stop. I get a hand full of mud, stand up and throw it at Bo._

_Everyone looked shocked. Bo throws some mud at me and we soon get into a mud fight. I hadn't had this much fun before coming to Hazzard._

"They've all been like siblings since then." Grandma ends the story; bring me back to what was now.

Cooter still looked a little confused. "That's interesting, but what about Coy and Vance? When did you meet them?"

"It was a while later but I have the same relationship with them as I do with Bo, Luke, and Daisy." I tell him.

He gives me a smile and we all continue eating the cake in silence. "Ya all know something?" I ask.

"Huh?" Everyone responds.

"I realize here that family doesn't need to have the same blood, they just need to love ya." I tell them. "If I never came here, I probably wouldn't have such great people in my life that I can consider my family. I wouldn't have a family. I love ya all."

"We all love ya too." Everyone says.

Bo wraps his arm around me and hugs me. "I agree with them all. And I couldn't imagine having a different friend to call my sister." He whispers.

"Thanks." I respond as I hug him back.

"Do I sense a bit of romance in the air?" I look and see that Cooter has a smug look on his face.

I kick him in the shin. "Ow!" He yells.

Jesse and Grandma give me stern looks. "Sorry but he deserves it."

"I agree. He knows darn well that we are like siblings." Bo helps defend me.

Cooter gives us both looks but then gets a big smile on his face. "Ya both know I was kidding. I couldn't help myself."

We both give wait a minute before we smile at him. "It's alright Coot." I say. "Sorry again about your shin."

"It's alright. I think it's just going to be a bruise in a few days." I laugh a little.

"Looks like everyone's about done, so let's take everything inside and we can open presents then." Grandma says standing up.

We all follow suit and take everything into the kitchen. Once everything's done, everyone heads into the living room but I stay in the kitchen and get another slice of cake. I stop in the doorway and look over everyone. They all had smiles on their faces and they were laughing. How could I have been so lucky to get such great people in my life?

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><p><strong>I hope this was worth the wait. Review please :D<strong>


	7. Adoption and Accusations: Part 1

**I don't own Dukes of Hazzard.**

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><p>"Clara!" I turn around and see Michael run to me.<p>

"Hey there. What's up?" I ask him. Michael is an orphan at the local orphanage.

"I've been adopted."

"Really?" I ask as I stoup down to his level.

"Yah. The Patterson's adopted me." The Patterson's were the new couple in town. They were both young and were some of the nicest people.

I pull Michael into a hug. "I'm happy for ya. You're goin' to some good people. You're goin' to be loved so much."

"I know, but you and the Dukes were the first ones to love me after my parents died." He says.

"We're always goin' to love ya." I tell him standing up. "So when ya moving out of the orphanage?"

"Later today." He says as we both walk to the garage.

"Amazing." We reach the garage and coincidently Bo and Luke pull up.

"Hey Clara, Michael." Luke says getting out.

"Hey guys." I say seeing if Cooter was here.

"Guess what guys." I hear Michael say. I walk into the office and see a note. It was from Cooter. All it said was that the Patterson's called and said they were bringing their car in.

I walk back out to hear the guys congratulate Michael. "Why don't we take ya to the Patterson's?" Bo asks.

"That would be awesome!" Michael hugs both the guys but pulls away with a sad look. "But they're coming to get me."

"We'll the guys could ask them when they bring their car in." I say as I walk to them. "I'm not sure when they'll be here though."

Right after I finish talking, Kevin Patterson pulls up to the garage. "Hello everybody." He says getting out of his car.

"Hello." We all say.

"Hey Michael, what are you doing here?" Kevin walks up to Michael and ruffles his hair.

"I told Clara, Bo and Luke about you and Mrs. Patterson adopting me."

"Yah, we're really happy for him." Bo says.

"Yah." I agree with him. "So why ya bringin' your car in today Kevin?"

"It's been acting weird."

I open the hood and start looking around. I emerge after a few minutes of looking and walk into the garage to join the guys. "I think it's goin' to take a while."

"We need to get home soon." Kevin says.

"Why don't Luke and I take you and Michael home? We can get his stuff then." Bo suggests.

"And I'll bring your car to your house when I'm done." I add.

He thinks for a minute. "That sounds great."

"Then let's go." Kevin reaches for the handle on the General and pulls a bit surprised that it didn't open.

"You have to climb in through the window." Michael tells him. He then shows him as he gets in.

Kevin tries to get in but Bo ends up having to help. Once they're all in, they back out and wave as they leave. I wave back then head further into the garage for some tools and rags.

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><p>"Hey Enos." I say walking into the police station.<p>

"Hello Clara." The deputy says from the desk by the upper jail cell. "Whatcha doin' here?"

I raise up a paper bag that's in my hand. "Grandma heard Boss made ya stay the night, so she made ya a breakfast."

He stands up and meets me halfway between the door and desk. "How sweet. She is always lookin' out for everyone."

"Yah she is." Enos takes the bag and walks it back to the desk. "I guess I should get to work. Bye."

"See ya." I walk to the door but Amanda Patterson walks in.

"Hello." I greet her.

"Hello." She walks right past me with a worried look. "Enos, I need to report a robbery."

I stand by the door and listen to them. It wasn't normal for robberies in town, even with our reputation. Enos takes a seat at the desk and pulls out a paper and pen. "What time was it?"

"It had to of been early this morning when Kevin was in the field and Michael and I were asleep."

"What was stolen?"

"Our gun safe, which had our shotgun and my great-grandfather's special riffle. I'm more worried about the riffle because it's worth a lot."

"Do many people around here know about it?"

"No. I think only Bo and Luke Duke know about it except for our family."

I know there was an easy assumption that can be made. "Ya don't think Bo and Luke would do it would ya Enos?" I ask stepping away from the door and joining them by the desk.

"What would Bo and Luke do?" We all turn and see Boss step out of his office with Rosco behind.

"Mrs. Patterson is reporting a robbery." Enos tells them.

Rosco walks over to Enos and grabs the paper Enos was writing on. He gets an evil grin on his face and hands it to Boss who got the same look. "Looks like the only suspects are the Duke boys." Boss says. "Rosco, Enos. Go and arrest them."

I knew I couldn't stop them. I run out of the building and jump in my car. I quickly start driving and grab the CB.

"Cow Bell to Lost Sheep. Ya better be listening Lost Sheep." I look in my rearview mirror and see Rosco and Enos behind me.

"Lost Sheep here." I hear Luke say.

"Where are ya?" I ask urgently.

"Just leavin' for town."

"Well forget that. Ya guys need to hide _now._"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I'll tell ya later. Ya just need to hide from Rosco and Enos."

They say nothing for a minute. I look behind me and see Rosco and Enos turn off the road I'm on. They were heading to the farm. "Alright. We're gone."

I throw the mic into the passenger seat and press my foot closer to the floor. I knew where the guys were going and that's where I was heading. I soon arrive at one of Jesse's old still sites. It was one that had a ton of trees and bushes. I find the General and park behind him, still hidden by the bushes. I get out and walk to the window of the General. I crouch down so I wouldn't be seen.

"What's goin' on?" Bo asks.

"Grandma had me take Enos breakfast and when I was leavin', Amanda walked in. She said they were robbed earlier this mornin'."

"What was stolen?" Luke asks.

"Their gun safe."

Bo and Luke both get shocked faces. Bo is the one to speak up. "Ya mean the safe that had Amanda's great-granddad's riffle?"

I nod my head. "And she said the two of ya were the only ones, other than family, to know about it."

"That's why ya told us to hide." Luke realizes. I nod.

"What are we goin' to do?" Bo asks. We all look around at each other.

I decide to talk after our long silence. "The only logical thing is to prove ya two are innocent."

"I agree." Luke says. "We need to split up. Clara, do ya think that Cooter has a car we can use?"

"Oh course." I respond.

"Go and get it. It will be useful." I give him a curious look.

"Alright. I'll be right back." I get up and get in my car.

I'm careful pulling onto the main road. I drive to the garage and park outside. I step inside and Cooter is working. I close the door and that catches Cooter's attention.

"Hey. Where were ya?" He asks.

I was supposed to be here after I dropped off Enos' breakfast but of course that didn't happen. "I dropped off a breakfast for Enos, and that's when Amanda Patterson walks in and says their gun safe is missing. It had a special riffle in it. And it just so happens that Bo and Luke were the only ones that knew about it except for the Patterson's family." I tell him without breathing between sentences.

"Really?" He asks.

"Yah. I also need to borrow a car. Luke's idea."

"Sure." He walks over to a desk, grabs some keys and he tosses them to me. "It's the grey Dodge out front."

"Thanks." I then toss him my keys. "In case it's needed."

He gives me a smile and I leave. I find the car by the gas pumps and get in. I then drive carefully to where the guys were, making sure I wasn't followed. I make it there and park behind the General Lee. Luke gets out as I do and Bo just sits in the window of the General. Luke climbs over the General and meets me between the two cars.

"So what's the plan?" I ask him.

"We'll split up, you and Bo will look on the north end of town and I'll look on the south end."

"What do ya mean Bo and me? Normally you and Bo search together in the General."

"You and Bo work good together and if it's you two together then you'll be able to find the person or persons faster."

I keep looking at Luke. I wanted to argue with him but I know I would lose and we also need to get them cleared and fast. "Fine." I give him the keys. He pulls me into a hug and I hug him back. He knows what he's doing, but I hope it works out right.

He gets in the car as I climb over the General's trunk and slip inside. Luke pulls out of the hiding spot first then we follow. We both pull out onto the main road but head in different directions. Bo and I drive around the northern part of town for about an hour with no luck.

"Bo, Clarabelle. Ya listenin'?" Luke's voice suddenly breaks our silence.

"We're here. How ya doin?" I respond to him.

"Nothin' but Enos pulled up behind me. It seems like he doesn't realize it's me but it's hard not to run from him." I look at Bo and he was a little worried like I was. A few minutes later Luke added, "He just turned off to a different road."

"Thank goodness." Bo says under his breath.

"Where are ya Luke? 'Cause we've found nothin' also."

"Miller Road." Bo instantly turns around and heads for Miller Road. "What the?" Luke says sounding a little freaked out.

"Luke? Luke, is everything alright?" I get no answer from him. "Luke? Luke?"

I throw the mic down in frustration. "Nothin'. He sounded like he was in trouble."

"I know." Bo speeds as fast as he can to Miller Road.

Bo slows down once we reach it. We look all around for signs of Luke. I then notice fresh tire tracks and nudge Bo to show him. He turns off and follows them. We look on each side of the road for any sign.

"Bo! Stop!" I yell as something catches my eye. Once he stops and turns off the car, we pull ourselves out to sit on the doors.

"Luke!"

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><p><strong>Cliff hanger. I'm sorry but it was just perfect for this story and if I didn't, I would have a hard time stopping this chapter. Well, hope ya'll are watching the Dukes marathon. I am and I'm on "High Flyin' Dukes" right now. I promise not to keep ya waiting for the next part of this. Review please.<strong>


	8. Adoption and Accusations: Part 2

**Here's part 2.**

**I don't own Dukes of Hazzard.**

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><p>"Luke!" Bo and I yell.<p>

On my side of the road, there was a slope and the sight at the bottom of it was what caught my eye and it was disturbing. The car Cooter loaned was crumpled and looked like it rolled many times. But Bo and I jump out of the General because Luke was laying by some bushes halfway down the hill. We run down to him and I drop to my knees by his head while Bo drops down by his lower torso.

I notice that Luke was breathing so I feel his neck. "He's breathing and has a strong pulse." I tell Bo.

The sound of sirens appears in the air and gets closer to us, so Bo and I look to the road and see Enos get out of his patrol car. "Enos! Call an ambulance!" Bo yells to him. He reaches into his car and pulls out his CB mic.

I return my focus to Luke and gently tap his cheek. "Luke? Luke, please wake up," I keep repeating. I look up at Bo for a second and he had a scared look like I probably had. I continue trying to wake Luke up till I hear ambulance sirens. I look and see two paramedics walk toward us with a board. We both unwillingly step aside when they reach us. They load Luke up and walk up to the ambulance. Bo and I follow and quickly jump in the General so we can stay with the ambulance.

"Daisy, Jesse, please be listenin'." Bo says over the CB as we start to drive. He waits a minute and tries again. "Daisy, Jesse, this here's Bo. Ya both got your ears on?"

"We're both here Bo." Jesse answers.

"Uncle Jesse, you and Daisy need to meet me and Clarabelle at Tri-County Hospital _now._"

"Why? What's wrong?" Jesse sounded a tad scared.

"We'll tell ya there."

"Alright, we're gone." Bo puts the mic back and concentrates on following the ambulance.

The image of Luke came back into my mind. It reminded me of when we found out that his younger brother was alive but was also in trouble. "It's all my fault." I say as I put my head in my hands.

"What makes you say that?" Bo asks.

I lift my head up and look at him with tears in my eyes. "If I wasn't at the station when I was, I wouldn't have told ya guys to hide, and then it wouldn't have gotten Luke to come up with his plan. You guys would have just ran when they arrived at the farm or pulled ya over. Luke could be in the same condition he was when Judd was here or he could be worse. So it's all my fault."

"It is not your fault. Ya did the right thing by tellin' us." He holds his arm out and I scoot closer to him so he could wrap his arm around me. "And none of us knew this would happen. If I did I wouldn't have let Luke go with his plan, neither would you. We would have teamed up and he couldn't fight against us."

He was right. But I still couldn't stop thinking that he could be super hurt. "He'll be fine." Bo says as if he was reading my mind. "I bet he won't be as hurt as when Judd was here. "

We soon make it to the hospital and follow the paramedics inside. We stop in the waiting room and find some seats. It wasn't soon after that Jesse and Daisy arrived. They saw us and joined us. Bo and I explain the whole situation and what happened. Daisy and Jesse were both a little stun with what we told them. We all then sit in silence for what seemed like forever. Soon a doctor walks out and we knew it had to be Luke's doctor.

"How is he?" Jesse asks.

"He's awake but has a slight concussion and a broken arm. We've put a cast on him so it could start healing." The doctor tells us.

"Can we see him?" I ask.

"Yes."

We follow the doctor who led us to Luke's room. We step in and Luke was lying in a bed with his right arm in a white cast on top of him. When he sees us, a smile appears on his face. "Ya made it."

"Oh course, we all were worried." Daisy said.

"What happened with the car Luke?" Bo asks walking over to the bed and sitting at the foot of it.

"The car was startin' to jerk so I turned off onto a different road but I lost all control. That's when I went off the road. But I jumped out before it crashed." He tells us.

"Good thing too. The car looked like it rolled many times. You would have been hurt worse than this." I tell him.

"I couldn't imagine what it looked like." He says.

"You don't want to know." I tell him. I walk to his side and lay my hand on his cast.

"I'm goin' to get something from the vending machines in the lobby. Anyone want anythin'?" Bo asks standing up.

"No." Everyone says.

"I'll go with ya." I say. I needed something to eat. I followed Bo out and we stand at the machines looking at our options. Bo chooses a pop and I get water and chips.

"I got ya now Bo Duke." Bo and I look at each other and roll our eyes. We turn and see Rosco standing there with hand cuffs in his hands.

"Rosco, you're goin' to arrest Bo even though his cousin's here at the hospital?" I ask him.

"Yes, and I'll get Luke when he's released." He grabs Bo's hand and tries grabbing the other but Bo moves it away so I can take his pop and hand me the keys to the General. Once Rosco has Bo cuffed, he walked him out of the hospital. I sigh and walk back to Luke's room. I lay the stuff in my hands on the table beside Luke and put the keys in my pocket.

"Where's Bo?" Jesse asks.

"Headin' to Hazzard in handcuffs."

"What?" Daisy asks.

"Rosco arrived and arrested Bo. He said he'll get Luke when he's out of here."

"I guess we need to find these robbers fast." Daisy says.

"Let's go then." Jesse says. We all stand up and start heading toward the door.

"Clara," I turn toward Luke. "Hand me my clothes."

"No Luke." I walk up to him and sit beside him on the bed. "You're not goin' anywhere. You'll stay right here. We can do this without ya and besides we don't want ya hurt anymore than ya are already. We care for ya Luke. I know ya can't stand stayin' here but ya have to."

"She's right Luke." Jesse says from the door.

He nods to me and I give him a smile. I kiss him on the cheek and leave the door with Jesse and Daisy.

"Jesse," I say as we walk through the hospital. "Ya need to go to Cooter and think of a way to get Bo out of jail, we need his help. My car is there so Bo can use it. Daisy, you search the west side of town and I'll look on the east side. We'll keep in touch over the CB."

"Alright." Daisy says heading for her jeep.

"Be careful." Jesse pulls me into a hug.

"I will." We go our separate ways and I run to the General Lee.

I jump in and roar to Hazzard. I look around for 20 minutes before I stop at an intersection and rest. Soon a truck zooms by with something in the back. It looked to be some kind of safe but I wasn't sure. I put the General in drive and follow the truck. I was able to see that it was a safe. And funny enough there was a name on it.

I quickly grab the CB mic. "Daisy, ya got your ears on?"

"Sure do sugar, find somethin'?"

"Sure did. I'm following a truck with a safe in the back. And can ya guess what name's on the safe?"

"Patterson."

"Yep. I'm on County Road 15 heading north."

"I'll meet ya there. I'm gone."

"I'll be there as fast as I can." I hear Bo say.

"It's nice to know you're out. Whatcha think driving my car?" He doesn't really drive it especially in this kind of situation.

"Different." I laugh.

"I'm goin' to try and cut him off at Willow's Creek." I stare at the CB like it was a monster. The voice was Luke's. He was somehow on his way.

I quickly look back at the road and see that the truck stopped and was blocking the whole road. I stop and two men get out. They were walking toward me, so I keep the car on and lay the CB mic down and cover it with my hand while pressing the button so any of the Dukes can hear if anything wrong happens.

"Hello." I say to the two men when they reach the door. "Ya havin' trouble with your truck? 'Cause if ya are, I can-"

"Get out of the car." The bigger man interrupts me and says while pointing a gun at me.

"Alright but there's no need for a gun." I mention the gun so everyone listening on the CB knew.

I let go of the CB and turn off the car. I then slip out and take a few steps away from the orange car. The man with the gun keeps it pointed at me while the other guy pulls me further from the General and pulls my hands behind me.

"We heard you and your friends on the CB." The smaller man says as he ties my wrists together. "So you're going to be our ticket out of this town."

I wasn't going to let that happen. Luckily I hadn't had time to change my shoes for work so I was wearing heals, so I stomped the heal onto the man's foot. He lets go of my hands so I quickly elbow him and kick the gun out of the bigger man's hands. I then take off running toward the truck and make my way around it. I could have ran the other way but I knew that we weren't far from Willow's Creek where Luke should be. I'm probably half a mile from it when I trip on a rock and fall. Without hands to catch me, I move my head so I fell on the side of my face. I try to get up but I'm quickly pulled up by my hair.

I feel the metal of a gun on my neck once I'm on my feet. "You're not getting away that easily." The man says in my ear.

He starts walking me back to the truck still holding my hair but he jerked me around in a 180 and I go flying to the ground again. I turn myself over in time to see Luke punch the man with his left hand. He falls to the ground and his gun flies away from him. When he doesn't move, Luke helps me up and cuts my wrists free.

I grab the gun the man had and point it at him as Luke picks him up. Once Luke has a good hold of him, we start walking back to the truck.

"I thought ya were goin' to stay at the hospital." I say to Luke.

"I just had a feelin' that something would happen and I couldn't stay there. I guess it was a good thing too." I want to be mad at him for not staying but I couldn't since he saved me.

"How did ya get here? Ya didn't drive did ya?" If he drove here himself, I am going to kill him.

"Hank gave me a ride in his ambulance. If I needed to though, I would have driven myself."

"If ya did, I would have killed ya." He laughs a little and that makes me do the same.

We soon make it back to the truck and Bo and Daisy were there with the smaller man tied up. They both get a big smile as we walk around the truck. Within minutes we hear sirens and see Rosco and Enos drive up to us. They both get out with Amanda Patterson and join us all.

"Rosco, Enos, here are your prisoners." Bo says as he and Luke hand over the two men.

"I can't believe it. How could you do this Ben?" Amanda asks.

Her saying that made me a little confused. "How do ya know him?"

"He was my sister's husband before she found him cheating on her. And this other man is his best friend." She tells us all. We all then realize that that's how they knew about the safe and riffle.

After the two men were in the police cars, Amanda jumped into the bed of the truck to make sure the safe and riffle were all safe. Daisy calls Cooter to help Amanda move the safe. She then joins me and the guys by my car.

"I think we need to get ya back to the hospital now Luke. Since everything is better now." I say.

"I think ya need to get checked out there too." Daisy tells me. I give her a weird look and she points to my face.

I feel around my face and feel some blood on both my cheeks and my forehead. "Oh." I say feeling like I'm blushing some. I guess I never realized that when both times I fell, I must have cut myself.

"Here are your keys." Bo says handing me the keys to my car. "Not to be mean but I prefer the General."

I chuckle a little. "No worry Bo. The keys are in the ignition."

"Ya two have fun now. Don't get hurt anymore than ya already are." Daisy says as she walks back to her jeep and Bo walks to the General.

Luke and I laugh. "We'll try not." We both say.

We get in my good ol' car and I drive us to the hospital. "I was worried when I heard ya mention a gun over the CB." Luke says after a few minutes.

"Well I was worried when ya wouldn't answer me back on the CB." I tell him even though it's obvious I would.

"Of course. I hope none of this happens again."

"It's Hazzard, you're a Duke, and I'm close enough to be a Duke. It's very possible it will happen again." Luke laughs when I finish. We all know things like this will happen. I just wonder what it would be like if none of it did.

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><p><strong>So? I feel I did a good job with this. One of my better chapters. Hope y'all enjoyed. Review.<strong>


	9. New Dog and Wedding Announcements

**So I've been watch old All-Star Family Feuds. Two of them have people from Dukes of Hazzard. One has Cletus, Maybelle, Jebb, Lulu, and Hughie. The other has Luke, Daisy, Boss, Uncle Jesse, and Rosco. Well with the first group, Jebb was up and the question was, "Name something in the house that has wheels." He rang in first and his answer, a toaster. Boy was that funny.**

**Well I don't own Dukes of Hazzard. But I wish it was real. That would be cool to be a part of, or just to be able to get a piece of them Duke boys.**

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><p>I hear a car pull up to the farm house as I work on my car some. I hear someone get out of the car and it sounds like they're walking toward me.<p>

"How could my brother and cousin get a gal this beautiful who also can work on cars?" I knew who it was. I smile to myself and chuckle a little. I wipe my hands on the rag and stand up. I slam my hood down, turn around and sit on it. I see Judd standing there smiling at me.

"I really don't know." I say to him. I stand up and hold my arms wide open for him. "Hey Judd."

"Hey." He says joining me in a hug. "Do ya have a dog?" He asks me as he pulls away.

I look at him strange. "No."

"Do ya still want one?"

"Sure. I guess." He was asking some interesting questions. He walks over to his car and I follow him.

He opens up the back door and a Bloodhound jumps out. I immediately drop to my knees to pet him. "Clara, meet Chester."

"He's beautiful Judd. Where did ya get him?" I ask as I keep petting Chester.

"As I was leaving town to come down here, I saw a sign saying this guy needed a new home. I thought instantly of you. He's fully trained, so all ya need to do is keep him clean and have fun with him."

I stand up and hug Judd again. "You shouldn't have Judd. But thanks."

"No problem." Judd hands me Chester's leash and we walk to the back porch and sit.

"So what brings ya to Hazzard?" I ask him.

"My family's here. Do I really need a reason?"

"Well ya don't visit often. And I can just tell there's somethin'."

He's quiet a minute before he says anything. "Well I guess I can tell ya first but I'm getting married."

I hug him once again. "That's great."

"Thanks. So where's the family?"

"Well, Daisy's at work and the guys and Jesse are in the field. But Luke should be back soon though." I say the last part after looking at my watch. "Jesse's not lettin' him work a ton after breakin' his arm."

"How'd he break his arm?"

"Well," I think back to what happened just a week ago. "Him and Bo were accused of somethin' they didn't do, like normal. But we all split up and his car just kind of went off the road and he jumped out before it crashed. But he landed on his right arm just right to break it."

He shakes his head. "My family." We both smile and laugh. "What happened to you then?"

I still had a bandage on my forehead but the cuts on my cheeks are healed. I explain to him what happened with me and he shakes his head and chuckle. "You get into the same trouble they do."

"Oh course. I've grown up with them." I give him a smile and he chuckles some more.

"Judd!" We turn to see Luke walking up to the house.

Judd stands up and walks over to Luke. They both hug each other and walk up to the porch.

"Whatcha doin' here?" Luke asks.

"I wanted to ask ya something that I had to ask in person." I give him a curious look.

They walk inside as I stay outside. Chester jumps up and lays his head in my lap. I pet it as I listen to the guys. Luckily the window in the kitchen was open and I could hear them.

"So what do ya want to ask me brother?" Luke asks.

"Well… I was wondering… if you would be my best man." I gasped. I guess I didn't figure that Judd would want his brother standing beside him.

Luke is silent for a minute. I could just imagine what his face looks like. "Of course I will. I wouldn't miss that. I can't believe you're getting married. When's the big day?"

"October 28."

"6 months? That's not so far away. Normally it takes awhile to plan a wedding." Luke says. It was exactly what I was thinking.

"We've been engaged for a few months now. I would have come sooner to ask ya but we've been working real hard. I'm also here to get some work done."

"What kind?"

"I'm looking at some houses here in Hazzard and in Hatchapee."

"Really?"

"Yah. I've wanted to move down here. And Mary-Sue wants to be closer to my family to get to know y'all better."

Luke chuckles and I try to keep mine inside so I don't let them know I'm ease dropping. But Luke and I were defiantly thinking the same thing. She was into a surprise when she gets to know the Dukes. "She's goin' to have a hard time when she finds out all that happens to us."

"I know. I've tried to tell her about it all but I know she won't really believe it till she sees it."

"She'll be in for a surprise. You've told her about Hazzard though, right? You know, like about how things run."

"Yah but she still likes the idea of moving here." They both laugh and I hold in a laugh.

I hear the guys shuffle around and the door opens. They step out and see me sitting down. Luke walks over and pets Chester. "Who's this guy?"

"This here is Chester. Judd got him for me." I tell him.

"Really?" Luke looks to Judd and he nods.

I then look and see Jesse and Bo walking back from the field. "Judd!" They both yell.

"Hey guys." Judd says back.

"Whatcha doin' here?" Bo asks. I chuckle because Bo said the exact same thing as Luke.

"Well, I asked Luke here to be my best man." Jesse and Bo get surprised looks on their faces and I act the same to keep them thinking that I didn't hear them.

"You're getting' married?" Jesse asks.

"Sure am. October 28th." He tells them. "Oh! I also forgot to tell ya Luke, but I guess I can tell all of you now. But we decided to have the wedding here in Hazzard."

"Really?" We all say.

"Yah. We knew it would be easier for all of ya, especially Bo and Luke. And I guess it's closer to where we will move. So we just thought, why not."

"That's great Judd." Jesse says.

"Yah. We can get all the other Dukes here. And then we can make Boss go crazy with us all." Bo says.

We all laugh. Bo was so right. "Well let's get that barbeque from last night out and have some lunch."

"All right." I stand up and Chester follows me into the kitchen as I get the food out of the fridge. I warm them up some and bring them outside. I lay them on the picnic table and sit beside Luke. Judd and Bo sit across from us and Jesse sits at the end. Chester sits beside me and I unclip his leash and put it on the ground by my feet. We say grace and start to eat. I give Chester a little bit of the ribs and he seemed to enjoy it so I rip him up some meat on a plate and put the plate on the ground so he can eat it.

After a few minutes of eating, police sirens fill the air and we all turn to see Rosco drive up. I sigh and can tell Luke does the same. Rosco parks and gets out with Flash right behind him.

"What is it Rosco?" Bo asks.

"I got a tip that something was happenin' here." He says walking toward us.

I look at everyone and we all roll our eyes. I know he won't leave till he gives out some kind of ticket or arrest someone. I look down at Chester and think of something that I wouldn't really care if it happened.

"Rosco, why don't ya just give me a ticket for not having paperwork for my new dog just so you can leave since we all know ya don't really want to be here." I say. I knew I was helping get him away and I didn't care if he gave me the ticket. I knew I could pay it. I have had extra picture sessions this week. At least 3 each day so far.

"You won't have to do that Rosco." Judd says. I turn to him and give him a curious look. "I have the papers in my car. You just need to take a few of them to the courthouse."

He gets up and goes to his car and pulls out a folder. He hands them to me and I look through them. It was all there. Judd had filled out everything for me and it just needed my signature. I sneak a peek at Rosco while I look at the papers and I see him grab at his stomach.

"Rosco, have ya had any lunch yet?" I ask him. He shakes his head and I look at the guys. They were thinking the same thing I was. I turn back to Rosco and lay the folder on the table. "Why don't ya have lunch with us? It's left over barbeque that we had last night. I don't think Boss would mind. And he doesn't have to know."

He looks between all of us and the food. "Oh alright." Luke and I scoot over and he sits beside me.

We eat and chat a little for about 30 minutes before we hear Boss Hogg's voice scream over the CB. "Rosco! This is JD Hogg! Where are you, you knucklehead?"

Rosco jumps up and runs to is car. "I'm right here my little fat buddy."

"I'm not your little fat buddy!" Boss barks at him. "Just get over here to Boar's Nest!"

"Alright. I'm gone." Rosco looks around and soon walks back over to us. "Do ya know where Flash is?"

We all look around but couldn't find her. We all then get up and start searching around the farm.

"Flash!" I call as I walk toward the barn. "Flash! Come here girl!"

All of a sudden she comes trotting out of the barn toward me. "There ya are." I say as I bend down and pick her up. I walk over to Rosco, who was by his patrol car. "I found your missin' lady."

"Oh Flash." He takes her from me and hugs her tight. He was acting like she was gone for weeks. But she was like the only woman he's loved a lot in his life, except for his mom and sister. It was just so sweet how much he loved her. "Thank ya Clarabelle."

"You're welcome Rosco." He puts Flash in the car and follows suit. He then drives off and leaves.

The guys clean up the plates and everything. I turn back to the barn and see Chester walk out. It looked kind of like a strut. Something then comes to my mind. Flash was also in there. There isn't much they could do in there. _They might of-._ I shake my head. It couldn't be that. I doubt it. I call Chester over and we walk back to the house. All the guys were talking about stuff for the wedding, like where they were going to have it all. I shake my head and chuckle a tad. They seemed like girls; even Jesse was really into it.

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><p><strong>Well, I will tell all of ya that I finished this on August 2<strong>**nd****. The reason I'm telling ya this is because I'm at my grandparent's house and I can't get internet on my computer here. That means I can't publish this for almost a week. I could do it on their computer but I'm not going to do that. This is our normal trip we take every summer. I always love coming up here because I get to see and play with all of my baby cousins. I have so many and they are all just so cute.**

**With all of that said, Review and sorry for the wait. **


	10. New additions

**So this is my next chapter. The second one I'm working on here at my grandparent's. In a few days I'm going with a couple of my aunts, my cousin, my mom and my cousin's daughter to a big flea market called Shipshewana (If that's even how you spell it). But its north of Fort Wayne, Indiana. It's close to an Amish community, so you'll see quite a few Amish people and see horse and buggies. It's really cool to go to. I also like that I get to spend time with my family that I don't normally see.**

**I don't own Dukes of Hazzard but I wish it was all real.**

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><p>Luke and I are at the garage. I'm working and Luke decided to help me. Cooter is out saving Enos from Hazzard Pond, courtesy of Bo who is leaving to head to Florida for a week to help some of his racing friends. As I'm working, I hear a car pull up and it is Rosco. He parks outside and gets out with Flash. I wipe my hands off and pet Flash when she trots over to me.<p>

"Hey girl." I say to her. As I pet her, I realize something is up with her. Something was different and I just couldn't figure it out.

"Where've ya been Rosco? I haven't seen ya all mornin'." Luke says.

"I was at the vet with Flash." He says.

I pick her up and hold her. "Is she okay?"

"Yah, she's fine, but …." He looks at the ground like he's embarrassed.

"But what Rosco?" Luke asks for us both.

"Well…."

"Is it something life threatening Rosco?" I ask as I keep petting her in my arms.

"No… No. She's just… pregnant."

I look at Luke, then to Flash and lastly to Rosco. "Really?"

He nods yes to us. "But I don't know how she could. She hasn't been around a dog like that."

I suddenly flash back to a few weeks ago when he and Flash was over at the farm and Judd had just arrived with Chester. I then remember that I found Flash coming out of the barn and then a little later, saw Chester walk out. Then the thought I had then popped into my head.

"Ah Rosco?" I say leery.

"Huh?"

"Well… I… uh… think I know whose dog got Flash pregnant."

"Who's?" He asks with a little anger in his voice.

I look at Flash and keep looking at her. "Mine."

"Jit, jit. What do ya mean?"

I look up as I tell him why. "Well remember when ya came over to the farm that one day and you you-know-what with us." I say being nice not to say aloud that he ate on duty. "Well I found Flash comin' out of the barn and soon after you left, Chester walked out too. So I guess that they must have… you know."

Rosco says nothing. I look at Luke and he's holding back from laughing. He walks over to Rosco and around him to put his left hand on his shoulder. "I guess ya two can call each other in-laws now."

I hold in a little snicker. What Luke said was a little funny to think. Rosco was getting a little red in the face but I knew it was anger. "Just think Rosco. They're goin' to be quite normal. Bloodhounds and Basset Hounds are quite alike. So I think they're goin' to look quite cute."

His face starts turning a little normal after I finish saying what I say. Luke then chimes in. "Just remember Rosco, this is a way of life. It's normal. The only way to prevent it is to either get Flash fixed or keep her completely away from any dogs when she's in the mood for kids. Which if I'm right, it's only two times a year she gets the chance to have kids."

What Luke said was very true. And Rosco knew that. His face was back to its normal color. He still didn't look happy, so I put Flash back on the ground and they both go back to the patrol car and leave. Once he's gone, Luke and I look at each other and start laughing. We had to get our laughter out that we held in. No one would have ever thought this would happen. But if it was a dog that the Dukes owned, Rosco would have flipped his lid and they would be more on Rosco's bad side.

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><p>"It's Bo." Grandma says. We were all at the farm and it's been a few days since Bo left town.<p>

Grandma talks to him a little bit and asks who wants to talk to him next. "I will." I say as I reach for the phone. "Hey Bo."

"How ya doin' Clara?" Bo asks.

"I'm doin' good. How are ya doin' down there?" I ask.

"Pretty good. I miss bein' around ya guys but I'm havin' a good time."

"Well that's good. But ya missed somethin' funny that happened right after ya left."

"What might that be?"

I get a huge smile on my face as I get ready to tell him. "Well Flash is pregnant."

"Really?"

"Yep. And guess whose dog is the father."

"Who's?"

"Mine." Suddenly Bo bursts out laughing.

"Really?" He asks between laughs.

I start laughing myself because of him laughing. "Yah. It's the only logical dog that Flash was around." I then explain to him what I did Rosco a few days ago about how I say both of them walk out of the barn.

"I can't believe it."

"Yah. Luke even said that we can call each other in-laws now."

He starts laughing even more. "I guess ya can. I can't believe I missed all that."

"No one would have known and like I said, I just let the thought pass me when I say Chester walk out of the barn."

"Man that's funny. I can't wait to see what those puppies look like."

"They'll look a lot like them both since BloodHounds and Basset Hounds are so much alike."

"Yah. I'll admit though, they will look cute."

I chuckle a little at that. Bo can have a sweet side. "Can I talk to him?" Daisy asks me.

"Sure." I tell her. "Daisy would like to talk to ya Bo." I tell him.

"Alright. I'll talk to ya soon."

"Okay. Bye." I hand the phone to Daisy and step aside.

It was nice to know that he thought it was funny 'cause everyone else thought the same. Rosco may not like it but I think that it's going to be sweet having little puppies around.

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><p><strong>My second chapter done while up here. The date is August 4<strong>**th****. A pretty good record for getting chapters done. I guess without internet up here, I can get more stuff done. Tonight I get to see 3 of my little cousins. Oldest 4, then 3, and lastly almost 4 months. The thing I like about coming up here is that I get to see all my family on my mom's side since we live hours away.**

**Well, review please.**


	11. The Cook Out

**My third chapter. Crazy. I guess it'll be nice to have these done and just update when I really want to. Won't be long between updates. That's a good thing. Something that's funny is that what's happening in this chapter, I'm doing tonight at my cousin's house. So great timing.**

**Dukes of Hazzard is not real, just a show, and I don't own it.**

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><p>"Grandma, why don't I get everything set up outside and you get the stuff in here ready?" I ask her. We were getting everything set to have a cook out with the Dukes.<p>

"No. I can do it all. I'm just putting up the table and chairs. Nothin' an old lady can handle. Besides the fire pit is already ready," she says determined.

"Okay," I say putting my hands in the air and turning to the fridge. I hear her laugh and open the door.

I pull out the hot dogs and lay them on the counter. I pull a dish out of one of the cabinets and place all the hot dogs in it. I then go to the hall closet and look around to find the roasting rods we'll use for the hot dogs and marshmallows. Once I find them, I walk back to the kitchen and lay them on the table. I search around the cabinets for the couple bags of chips we bought. Then once I find them, I go back to the fridge and pull out the ketchup, mustard, and chip dip. Out of the silence in the house, a roar slowly gets louder and stops outside of the house. I hear the beginning of Dixie and smile to myself. I look at the clock and see that it was 5:30.

"Right on time," I say aloud. I grab the plates and silver wear as the front door opens. I turn and see Daisy step in with a few containers in her hands. "Hey Dais."

"Hey Clara. Got the potato salad and watermelon."

"Great. I think Grandma has the table set up outside. So you can go ahead and take it out."

"Great." She starts to head to the back door but I stop her.

"Can ya take the plates and silver wear outside too?"

"Sure." She takes them and steps outside. A few minutes later I can hear Jesse and the guys walk in and close the door.

"I mean it fellas, I'm goin' to cut them doors open and I'll get Catherine to help me since she agrees with me," Jesse rants to the guys. I chuckle as I hear it.

"Hey Uncle Jesse," I say as go back into the fridge to get the chocolate out.

"Hello darlin'. Where's Catherine?"

"She's outside settin' stuff up."

"She better not be gettin' that fire ready. The boys could do that," he rambles as he walks out the back door.

"Hey guys," I say as I break the chocolate and put it on a tray with gram crackers and marshmallows.

"Hi," Luke says.

"Hey," Bo says as he and Luke reach for a marshmallow. I swat at their hands but they still get one each.

"We brought the guitar," Luke says and Bo holds it up in his hand. I smile. It was going to be a great time.

"Great. Can ya guys help me bring the stuff for dinner out?" I ask as I grab the hot dogs, roasting sticks and chip bags.

"Sure." I give them a grateful smile and head outside.

Grandma and Jesse were already sitting and talking away while Daisy was getting the fire wood put in the pit. I lay the things I am holding on the table and see the guys walk out of the house. They bring out the hot dog buns, ketchup, mustard, chip dip, and napkins. The only thing left was the drinks. I head back inside and pull the liters of pop out of the fridge. I then grab the plastic cups and head back outside. I notice as I step back out that the guys are starting the fire. I close the door and place the drinks on the table. Daisy helps me get everything set up on the table.

"Everything's ready!" I call out. Everyone comes over to the table and surrounds it, even Chester came running over.

We say grace, grab a roaster, a hot dog, and head over to the fire to cook them. I grabbed two hot dogs, one for me and one for Chester. He seemed to love any kind of meat we eat. I'm done first since I was taking off the hot dog for Chester. He liked his a little bloody and raw. I toss his on the ground beside my chair and continue to cook mine. I'm the last one to finish cooking whereas everyone was already eating theirs. I take my hot dog over to the table; put it in a bun and put ketchup and mustard on it. I then put some chips, watermelon and potato salad on my plate. I grab my silver wear and drink and head back to the circle around the fire.

"We've missed ya around here Bo," Grandma says. Bo had been back only a few days after being in Florida for a week. This cook out was kind of a welcome back for him. "It's been quiet."

"I've missed bein' here. I'm always glad to come back after bein' gone. But I loved hearin' 'bout Chester," Bo says. We all laugh and know exactly what he was talking about.

"Yeah, it's goin' to be fun havin' a few puppies running around here," I say aloud. And what I said was true; it was going to be fun.

"I can't wait either," Daisy adds. "Puppies are always fun and cute."

"Until they start chewin' everything up," Grandma says with a little bit of anger in her voice. She wasn't happy to hear about the puppies and that I wanted to keep a few. She's heard many stories of what puppies can do, so it took quite a bit of convincing to get her to allow the puppies.

We then chat the whole time we are eating. We talk about many different things and it would soon lead to random things. We all soon finish and are ready for s'mores. We clean everything up and I head inside. I take the tray with the ingredients for s'mores outside to the table. We all grab marshmallows and start roasting them. Luke and Bo like theirs charred but the rest of us like them golden.

"How come my first marshmallow always falls into the fire?" I ask as I get up to get another one.

"You never turn it around, so it just melts some and falls," Grandma tells me.

"Thanks Grandma," I say as I sit down. She can state the obvious sometimes. After the first one falls, I always keep a good eye on the marshmallows.

"Well I think that they would rather be burned than eaten by you," Bo says.

I knew what he meant by saying they didn't want to be eaten by me, so I punch him in the arm and he just smiles and chuckles. "Not funny Bo."

"I thought it was." I roll my eyes and try to ignore what he said.

Once we get finished with the s'mores, we get everything cleaned up and put away, even the table. We then just sit around the fire and wait for it to get dark.

"How 'bout we sing some?" Bo asks.

"Sure," we all say.

Bo grabs the guitar and tunes it for a minute. He then starts to play. I get a smile on my face once I recognize the song. It was "Real Love" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. I loved this song, but it's weird that Bo would choose it.

"You first Daisy." Bo says.

Daisy nods and starts singing, "_They say that it's a matter of trusting_  
><em> Before love has a chance to begin'<em>  
><em> And it's never simple<em>  
><em> Faithless hearts can cripple<em>  
><em> And only a strong love survives.<em>"

"_I know they say that it's such a fine line_  
><em> Between giving up and giving in<em>  
><em> Ahh, but once your heart's been in it<em>  
><em> You just can't forget it<em>  
><em> It's like nothing that you've felt in your life,<em>" Bo sang.

"_We got real love, not infatuation_  
><em> Real love, our heart's celebration<em>  
><em> I love you, You know I love you too<em>  
><em> Real love, not an imitation<em>  
><em> Real love, you're my destination<em>  
><em> Baby, you and me, we got everything we need,<em>" Bo and Daisy sing together.

"Luke, Clara." Bo says nodding towards us.

I give him a look but I go ahead and sing, "_You are such a part of my life_  
><em> That I can't remember me without you<em>  
><em> And we've had our nights, we've had our share of fights<em>  
><em> But we never thought of givin' it up.<em>"

"_Woh, you and I we must be dreamers_  
><em> 'Cause we're makin' all our dreams come true<em>  
><em> I could spend my life just holding you so tight<em>  
><em> And never ever get enough,<em>" Luke sings.

"_We got real love, not infatuation_  
><em> Real love, our heart's celebration<em>  
><em> I love you, You know I love you too<em>  
><em> We got real love, not an imitation<em>  
><em> Real love, you're my destination<em>  
><em> Baby, you and me, we got everything we need<em>  
><em> We got real love,<em>" Luke and I sing together. Oddly we sounded good as just the two of us.

"_We got real love, not infatuation_  
><em> Real love, our heart's celebration<em>  
><em> I love you, You know I love you too<em>  
><em> Real love, not an imitation<em>  
><em> Real love, you're my destination<em>  
><em> Baby, you and me, we got everything we need<em>  
><em> We got real love, not infatuation<em>  
><em> Real love, our heart's celebration<em>  
><em> I love you, You know I love you too<em>  
><em> We got real love, not an imitation,<em>" we all end singing together.

Jesse and Grandma clap and stand up giving us a standing ovation. We all chuckle and bow in our chairs.

"Ya guys always sound great together," Jesse says.

"And I've never heard Luke and Clara sing together by themselves before. Y'all actually sound good," Grandma says.

"Amazing," Daisy says.

I blush but don't try and hide it since the sun was almost set and the fire couldn't show it. It was weird to hear it but I know that it's true. I even thought we sounded good together. I don't get how it took till now for us to figure this out.

"I guess we did sound good," Luke says.

"Yeah, who would have thought?" I also ask.

I feel something hit my hands and look around at everyone else. They seemed to have something hit them too. I then realize that it's gotten darker. More stuff then hits me and I realize its rain. Everyone's realized it. We all run into the house with the chairs and I call Chester in. We put the chairs in a pile in the kitchen and sit in the living room. I get up to go to the bathroom after a little bit of talking and singing. Once I walk back everybody was laughing and having fun. I walk into the kitchen to not disrupt them and decide look out the window to find out the rain was done. It seemed to be just a small pop-up shower. I look up to the sky and see the stars shining bright. They always seemed to after a rain shower. I look back to the living room and see that they hadn't noticed me so I quietly open the back door. I step through the screen door and walk to the center of the yard. I feel around the ground I want to lie on and make sure there was no dog poop. Once I make sure it's clear, I sit down and lay back to look at the stars.

"Got bored with us?" I look and see Luke standing over me.

"Nah, after it rains the stars seem to be brighter. So I like to lay out here and look at them."

Luke sits on the ground and lies beside me. "Really?"

"Yeah. I've always loved to watch the rain and one night the stars seemed different afterward. So I went outside and looked up to realize that the stars seemed to be brighter."

"Huh. I never noticed, but you're right."

I chuckle a little. "It gives me something to look forward to."

"You don't look forward to the craziness of everyday?"

I chuckle more. "That's normal and comes every day. You never can really know when rain will come and these stars will come out."

"I guess you're right."

We say nothing and just look at the sky. I look over at Luke and he looked really intrigued with the stars. He looks at me and I quickly turn back to the sky. I blush as I hear him chuckle. We were a lot alike but there was something big between us.

I just wish I knew what it was.

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><p><strong>Well this has been hard to finish. Laziness, school, work. But I've now got it finished. The ending isn't the best but I did what I could. Our little cook out ended with rain like in this chapter but it rained for a while. Review and enjoy. Don't know when the next chapter will be up. And sorry for this taking so long, been distracted by all the crazy stuff happening around here.<strong>


	12. Racing at the Fair

**Here it is. The next chapter. Sorry for the wait.**

**I don't own Dukes of Hazzard.**

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><p>Pulling up to the Duke house, I notice Bo and Luke sitting on the porch. They seemed to be in an intense conversation. I turn off my car and neither of them looks at me. They were really into whatever they were talking about. Their voices drift through the quiet afternoon air and into my car.<p>

"But we need to do the race Luke. We already sent in our entry fee and you know we can't get it back if we don't race," Bo explains to Luke.

"I know and I also know that everyone will think of us differently if we quit the race. But the gals don't want us to race so we can be with them. And of course we have to think of my arm. Doc Applebee said he didn't want me to be in the passenger seat when we're racing," Luke tells Bo.

"This one time won't hurt your arm and I bet the gals will understand if we just explain it to them."

"I doubt it." I shake my head after Luke says that. I wonder what two girls they are talking about.

I couldn't listen to them anymore and if they continued, they probably would start getting into a physical fight. I open my door and close it, which got their attention. They quickly put smiles on their faces when they realize it was me.

"How ya doin' guys?" I ask as I walk to the porch.

"We're just tryin' to decide on whether we race next week or not," Bo tells me.

"Didn't ya already send the entry fee in?" I ask.

"Yeah, but that was before I broke my arm and we got dates to the fair," Luke says. He walks off the porch and sits on the hood of the General Lee, which was close by.

Bo and I follow Luke. I sit on the hood with him and Bo stands in front of both of us. "Who ya guys takin'?" I ask since they hadn't said.

"Sophie and Monica," Bo informs me.

I shake my head. I couldn't believe Bo and Luke. "Aren't they the Kellen cousins that Daisy has disliked since her freshman year?"

"Yeah but there was no one else to ask."

I shake my head. "You could just go with family. I don't have a date but I'm goin' with Grandma. It's something we can do together."

Suddenly an idea pops into my head. I look between the guys with a big smile on my face before I say, "Why don't I drive for ya guys?"

They both look at me crazy. "You can't race," Bo says after a second.

"Why not?" I ask as I hop off the hood and look at them both.

"Ya could get hurt," Luke says still sitting on the General.

"I could get hurt?" They were both acting crazy. "The two of ya have taught me all your driving skills and moves. I can be just as good as you two."

Before I could say more, someone else's voice breaks through. "Clara."

Bo and I turn and see Daisy coming off the porch and walking toward us. "Hey Daisy," we all great.

"I was just on my way to see ya," she says to me as she reaches us.

"How funny. I'm here to ask ya about dinner tomorrow night," I inform her.

We both laugh as the guys look at each other. Their looks said that they were having one of their many mental conversations. "What were y'all talkin' about anyway?" Daisy asks.

"The guys are havin' a hard time deciding whether to do the race or not even though they've sent in the money. So I gave them the option of havin' me drive for them," I tell her, giving the guys the stink eye.

"That's a great idea!" Daisy exclaims. "I can be in the car with ya."

I get a big smile on my face. "Ya don't have a date like the guys?" I ask her.

"Nah. I was goin' to see if you wanted to hang out at the fair."

"That would be great. I'll have to see if Grandma's okay with it 'cause we're suppose to go together. But I bet I can get to go with Jesse." We both laugh and I hear the guys chuckle. "So what do ya guys think? Daisy and I drive for ya in the race."

They look at each other and I can tell that they don't really like the idea. But I don't get why they would say no with Daisy being with me. She's driven a race car and won the race for Bo.

"Fine," they both sigh. Daisy and I get smiles on our faces.

"Come on Daisy; let's see who should drive in the race," I tell her. She nods and we run to the doors of the General. I get in the passenger seat while Daisy gets in the driver's. By the time Daisy turned the car on, Luke was off the hood and they were both on the porch. Daisy puts the General into gear and speeds off so we can practice.

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><p>I pull into a parking spot at the fairgrounds with Daisy sitting beside me. The plan was for Daisy and I to come together, Grandma would come with Jesse, and Bo and Luke would bring their dates in the General Lee. Daisy and I start our walk to the entrance and spot the General where we had planned for him to be. We hop inside and drive him around to the track.<p>

We jump out and stroll around the fair. It was always a fun place to be even if Boss was still cheap with it. We grab some food and continue our walk around. This was the place for everyone to see each other. We finish our food and realize that we needed to get to checking the General out. After checking every square inch of him, we relax for a minute. My gaze catches the drivers of the other 5 cars. They were giving us strange looks. I look at Daisy who had also noticed their looks too. We giggle at what we saw and just shake our heads. They were going to be surprised after this race is over with.

"Drivers! Come and take your places at the starting line!" we hear Boss announce.

Daisy and I gather up our hair and slip on the boys' helmets. We slid in the General and follow the others to the starting line. Our plan for the race was for Daisy to drive and I would be in the passenger's seat and do what Luke would do if it was Bo racing.

When we are all lined up, Boss starts to announce us. Since we were on the inside of the track, we are the last ones to be announced. "And last, we've got car 01 which is supposed to be driven by Bo and Luke Duke but they have been substituted. Now driving is Daisy Duke and Clarabelle Sandell."

The crowd roars when Boss says that. Daisy and I smile at each other before we wave to the ever loud group of people.

"Drivers, its 10 laps around the track and the winners get $250," Boss informs us. "On your mark, get at set," Boss says right before Rosco fires his gun.

At the ring of the gun fire, we all put our feet to the floor and speed off. It didn't take long before all the guys gang up on us. We make our way past all of them and make them work to catch up to us. About the 3rd lap, two cars run off the track and leave 4 of us fighting to win. The 7th lap takes out one more driver. By the last lap, we are still in along with 2 others. We're in second when we go into the second to last turn. Suddenly the lead car turns sideways and starts flipping.

"Right, Daisy! Right!" I yell at her. The car was starting to slow down and was in our path. She quickly turns right like I said and we barely make it past. We both breathe a sigh of relief as we entered the straight away. I look to my right and see that the wreck hadn't changed anything and we were in a neck-and-neck race. I watch as he moves to the outer side of the track and I can tell he's thinking of taking the turn wide.

"Drift on the inside," I tell Daisy.

I look over at her and she has a smile on her face. "I was thinkin' the same thing," she informs me. I get a big smile on my face. We can think alike quite a bit.

We get to the turn and I brace myself for what's to come. Daisy drifts and I watch as the other car appears behind us. The crowd roars as we near the finish line and that makes me smile. I look at Daisy and she is smiling along with me. We cross and start cheering ourselves. We had just won the race and showed everyone that we were just as good as Bo and Luke.

We slide to a stop and pull ourselves out to sit on the doors. In unison, we take our helmets off and toss them in the back seat. We shake our hair out some and look at each other. We smile, face the crowd, and hold our hands up. I scan the crowd and find Bo, Luke, their dates, Jesse, and Grandma. Even from this far away, I can tell that she wasn't happy with seeing me sitting here.

"I'm goin' to be in trouble after this," I try to tell Daisy over the crowds.

"Don't worry about it," She says back.

She was right. I shouldn't ruin the moment. I look to my right and see Boss and Rosco walking toward us. I then notice that Boss had a check in his hand. They reach us, not looking too happy.

I reach out and take the check. "Sorry ya hate this Boss," I say with a smile. Daisy and I slide back into the General and drive him to where he was parked in the parking lot. We head back into the fair and are greeted by many congrats. We both take it in since Luke and Bo always seem to get this. As we near the stands, I see Bo, Luke, Jesse, and Grandma at one of the sets of stairs that lead up to the seats in the stands.

"How dare ya lie to me?" was the first thing said when Daisy and I meet up with the others.

I sigh. "Grandma, we would have won the race even if I told ya," I tell her.

"I don't care. Ya still decided to lie to me. Just wait till we get home, you are in so much trouble."

"Just be happy for the girls, Catherine," Jesse says putting a hand on her shoulder. She seemed to relax under his touch. There had to be something going on between them.

"I guess I am excited for you two," she says with a smile. I give her a big smile too and a big hug. It always feels nice when she's proud of me.

"That last turn was amazing," Bo pipes up.

Daisy and I chuckle and everyone does the same. I pull out the check Boss gave me and hold it out to the guys. "Here's your winnings."

Luke grabs my hand and moves it back toward me. "That's your guys' money. Ya earned it."

"But ya guys used _your_ money to enter," Daisy says. "It was also your guys' car that won."

"And ya guys were able to race for us so our money didn't go to waste."

I was about to say something back when Jesse piped in. "Why don't y'all split the money? Divide it."

The four of us look at each other and realize how stupid we were. We should have came up with the idea.

"Why don't Jesse and I go and cash the check?" Grandma says. "Then we'll split the money for y'all."

We all look at each other again and agree. "Sure," we all declare.

I hand her the check and they walk off. We all chuckle and shake our heads as they walk away. We can all tell that there is something between them. Bo and Luke's dates then return and take our attention off of Grandma and Jesse. I look at Daisy and she's not happy seeing them.

"Let's do some games," Sophie says and Monica nods her head, agreeing.

"Then let's go," Luke says.

"See ya gals later," Bo says as they all walk away.

Daisy keeps watch of them as they walk away. "Let's go look at the crafts," I say the get Daisy's mind off the guys.

"Okay." We start walking to the back of the grounds where the buildings were. "Something my cousins just get on my nerves with the girls they go out with," she says on the way over. I knew she wouldn't enjoy seeing Monica and Sophie.

"That happens. But ya did a good job at not attackin' them," I tell her. I was impresses that she kept herself together.

"Thanks. So did you." I stop and give her a weird look once I comprehend what she said.

"What are ya talkin' about?" I ask. I'm really confused on why she said that.

"I saw your face when Sophie wrapped her arms around Luke." I keep looking at her weird. I didn't know I was making a face. "You have feeling for Luke. Ya like him."

"No. You're crazy," I instantly say. I automatically regret it because I know it gives her a hint that I'm lying. I guess I have developed a few feelings for Luke but for sure I don't like Luke the way she thinks I do.

"Sure," she says mockingly. She can tell the true meaning behind my words. I didn't like that. She stars to walk again and I do the same.

"I do not. I swear I don't like him," I try to convince her.

"Fine. But do ya have any kind of feelings for him?"

I don't say anything. I needed to contemplate that. I feel like I should tell her because we're like sisters. But I could lie to her to keep from getting picked on or have it be known everywhere. I know I could trust Daisy though as long as I make her promise not to tell anyone.

"A little," I finally decide to say. She gets a huge smile on her face. "But ya have to promise not to tell anyone or get involved."

I look at her with pleading eyes and can tell it was working. "Okay. I promise. Does anyone else know?"

I shake my head and felt that I really could trust her. We step into the craft building and I feel just a tad better getting that off my chest by telling someone. Someone that I really trust.

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><p><strong>Now Daisy knows about her little feelings. Will she keep her promise? Who knows.<strong>


	13. Cast Removal and More Wedding Prep

**This chapter was a tough one. I still don't think it is what it could have been but I feel pretty good though.**

**I don't own Dukes of Hazzard.**

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><p>"Ready to be freed?" I ask Luke as he walks out of the farm house.<p>

He gives me a big smile as he says, "Of course I am." He climbs in as I do the same and I soon pull out of the farm. "I'm so happy to get this thing off."

"I know ya are. Everyone know ya are," I say. "We all know you're missin' being in the General alongside Bo in all the races. Even the one today."

I look over at him and he's just looking out the window. I can see some sadness in his face as he watches the scenery fly by. Bo is to be racing in Daytona today and Grandma, Jesse, and Daisy had gone down to watch him. Luke and I had stayed back though since he needed to get his cast off and needed someone to drive him. Even though he doesn't say it, I know he didn't want to go down to Daytona and postpone his cast being removed because he didn't want to watch the race from the sidelines. He's had a hard time sitting on the sidelines during a lot of the races that have come up recently. He's use to being a part of the action, not just watching it.

"I hope Bo wins. He really deserves it," Luke says after a few minutes of nothing.

"We all hope he does. Ya know that he's goin' to have the loudest fans in the crowd," I state. A lot of Hazzard had gone down to help Jesse, Daisy, and Grandma cheer Bo on, but some people stayed here though, since they don't really like Bo.

The rest of the way to Tri-County, I try and keep Luke's mind off the race happening miles away. He has no reason to feel bad while he's getting his cast off. He should be happy today. I pull into the hospital parking lot and find the closest spot to the front doors. We walk in and Luke leads me to the section of the hospital where they'll remove the cast. I take a seat in the waiting room while he signs in and is called back.

"Hi," I hear around me.

I look to my right to find a man sit down beside me. He looked to be a little older than Luke but had completely opposite features than him. "Hello."

"What brings ya here?" he asks.

"I brought my friend in to get his cast taken off."

A smile appears on his face. "I came in for the same reason except it's my daughter I brought in. She broke her leg in cheerleadin'."

"My friend broke his arm jumping out of a car." The man gives me a weird look when I say that. "We're from Hazzard," I clarify for him.

"Ah." Everyone in the area knew that Hazzard was the place where the crazy stuff happens. "I should have known that. I never expected such a pretty girl to be from there though."

I chuckle. I was being hit on by an older man who had a daughter. That was new for me. Daisy is going to get a kick out of hearing this when she gets back. Come to think of it, Luke and Bo were going to love hearing about this too.

"Then ya must not have been to Hazzard before 'cause there are many others prettier than me."

"I doubt that," he says with what looked like lust in his face.

Now _this_ is getting a little awkward and creepy. Luke needs to get done soon so we can leave this place. I don't know how long I can handle having "Wife Searcher" beside me. I keep dodging around certain subjects as the man tries to flirt with me more. I've never wanted to leave a hospital so bad before.

"Ya ready, Clara?" I hear Luke ask. I look up to see him standing in front of me.

"Yes," I instantly say as I quickly stand up. I turn to the man that was talking to me and say, "It was nice to meet ya."

"It was nice to meet ya, too."

"Who's that?" Luke asks as we start to leave.

"Just wait to till we get in the car," I tell him as I quicken my pace.

We make it outside the hospital and into my car in a matter of minutes. Once I'm behind the wheel, I let out a big sigh of relief. I've never been so glad to get out of there before in my life. "Ya mind tellin' me what had happened in there while I was gone?"

"Let's just say, I'm not ready to be an instant mommy to an 8 year old girl," I answer as I start up my car and drive off.

He starts to laugh and I glance at him confused. "You were bein' hit on by that guy?" I nod my head and he laughs more.

"Stop laughin'!" I yell at him, shooting him daggers.

"I'm sorry. It's just too funny."

"It is not. It was really creepy. I've never been in a situation like that before and I never want to again."

"I'm glad Bo and I haven't been in any kind of situation like that," he says as his laughter starts to subside.

"I hope ya guys do," I retort back.

"Don't be so hasty."

"I can if I want. That moment will scare me for life."

"Don't over react."

"I am _not_ over reacting. It was really weird for me." Luke start to chuckle again and I look over at him confused. "What is it now?"

"That situation goes to show that you can attract men much older than you."

"Not funny Luke. Those are not the kinds of guys I'm lookin' for."

"Doesn't seem like you're tryin' hard to find a guy."

I look at him in shock. He really pulled that card? Well two can play at that game. "At least I'm not playin' with women's hearts and sleepin' with every one of them in town."

"My, that one was right to the heart."

"You started it."

Before he can say anything back, I pull onto the farm and find a car parked beside Daisy's jeep. We both knew the car and who owned it. I park behind it and we both get out. Stepping into the house, we find a familiar face sitting at the table.

"Judd," we both say.

"I was wondering if anyone was going to come home," he says standing up. He walks over to Luke and gives him a hug. "How's it going brother?"

"Great," he replies. "Got my cast off today. That's why Clara and I were gone."

"I thought something looked different about you." The three of us laugh at the little joke. "Where's Uncle Jesse, Bo, and Daisy?"

Luke hesitates before saying, "Bo's racin' down in Daytona and Uncle Jesse and Daisy went to cheer him on."

Judd looked like he was ready to ask Luke why he wasn't down there with them but I give him a look before he could say it. My look told him not to ask. He looked confused so I mouth to him, "I'll tell ya later."

He nods and drops the subject as he walks closer to me to give me a hug. "How you doing, Clara?"

I hug him back and respond, "I'm okay. What brings ya up here?"

He walks back over to the table and sits back down beside the woman. "You guys, this is Mary-Sue. Mary-Sue, this is my brother, Luke, and Clarabelle."

"Nice to meet ya," I say shaking her hand then sitting across the table from her. Judd had sure found himself a pretty girl.

"Nice to meet you too."

"I'm glad to meet my future sister-in-law," Luke says taking a seat beside me. "You'll get to see what you're getting yourself into by marrying my brother and moving down to this area."

"Judd's told me everything but I think I can handle myself," Mary-Sue says confidently.

Luke and I chuckle. "You are goin' to eat those words," I tell her. "Hearing about it is much different than experiencing it. _I'm_ still surprised when things happen around here."

"It's true. She's been around this so long and she _still_ has a hard time believing it sometimes," Luke says, backing me up.

I nod and smile as he says that. I really am surprised with some of the things that happen. I guess it's just because I don't have the exact same mindset that the Dukes have. Mine's pretty close though.

"Luke, can I talk to you for a minute?" Judd asks. He seemed intent on what he wanted to ask his brother.

"Sure." They both stand up and walk out onto the porch leaving Mary-Sue and I alone at the table.

"How long have you and Luke been together?" Mary-Sue asks.

I look at her a little surprised and start to chuckle at what she said. "Luke and I aren't together. Never have. I'm just a long time friend of the family. I'm practically part of the family."

"Huh. The way Judd talks about your guys's relationship made me think you two were together."

Those words make me wonder. What could Judd have said to make her think that? What does he think is between Luke and me? _Is_ there something between Luke and me? Now I feel like I'm going crazy thinking about all of this. All credits go to Judd for making me think like this.

"Hey," I say changing the subject, "why don't I take ya around town and show ya some of the places you could use for the weddin' and reception. I doubt ya guys have chosen yet."

A smile appears on her face. "That would be great. And we haven't; that's actually one of the reasons we came down here."

"Then let's go."

We both stand up and walk outside, passing the guys on the porch.

"Where do you think your taking my fiancée?" Judd asks me when he realizes where we were heading.

I smile as I open the door to my car and look at him. "Just takin' her around town to show her some places that would work for the weddin' and reception. Nothin' crazy."

"Well, I want her back in one piece and I don't want to bail her out of jail," he warns me.

I laugh at his attempt to look scary. "Just be glad the General _and_ Bo are not here."

A look of horror crosses his face which makes me laugh more. He knows that things would become crazier if Bo and the General Lee were here. Mary-Sue would end up experiencing her first jump. But of course I can always do it myself. I've done many and quite a few I made in my car. I climb in behind the wheel and start up the engine.

As I speed off the farm, I smile to myself as I say, "Mary-Sue?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you afraid of heights?"

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><p><strong>This one is a little shorter than the others but the next chapter will be a good one.<strong>


	14. 4th of July

**Sorry this has taken forever. I've had it typed but I just haven't felt like rereading. But I've finally got it done.**

**I don't own Duke of Hazzard.**

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><p>"Are ya gals ready yet?" Bo yells through the door.<p>

"Almost!" I yell back. It is the 4th of July and Bo, Luke, Daisy, and I are going to Capital City to see some fireworks. We have fireworks in Hazzard but they aren't that good since Boss is so cheap.

It's hot_ and _humid out and neither Daisy nor I want to deal with our hair after we step out. Because of that, we decided to French braided each other's hair. Once I put the last hair tie in Daisy's hair, we step out of her room and find the guys standing outside the door waiting for us.

"I swear, ya two could be twins," Luke comments as we all walk into the kitchen.

Both Daisy and I chuckle. There are times where we would look alike but never twin worthy. There were quite a few things that don't make us twin worthy.

"I'd be a little concerned if we were related somehow," I say as I grab a cookie from the table.

"Me too. But it would be cool to have another girl in his family," Daisy adds.

"I don't know what I would have done if I had to raise two girls," Jesse states as he walks into the room. "Bo and Luke were enough to handle."

"You technically did raise two girls, Uncle Jesse," Bo points out.

"But Catherine took care of Clarabelle. I just had her after school and whenever she was workin'."

Jesse had a point. I would come to the farm with Bo after school and I would come over when Grandma was working. The rest of the time, I was with her.

"You still treat me like one of your own though," I comment. He smiles and I know he knew I was right.

"We better get goin' if we want to get good seats," Daisy declares. We all look at the clock and realize she was right.

The four of us say bye to Jesse and walk out to the General Lee. Daisy and I climb into the back seat and the guys climb into the front. We race off the farm and enjoy the cool air that was entering the car.

"Ya guys aren't goin' to swoon any girls tonight are ya?" I ask as the idea forms in my head. This is supposed to be a bonding time for us all.

"We promise not to," Luke answers.

"Unless they start it first," Bo adds with a quirky grin on his face.

Daisy and I roll our eyes and shake our heads. We knew that every girl, single or taken, will make some kind of move on them. It happens all the time no matter where we went. They take it in when they can.

"You girls promise us not to run off with some guy since we can't swoon with any girls," Luke says. From my angle, I can see that he had a serious look on his face.

Daisy and I look at each other and giggle. We were both thinking the same thing. "Can't promise that Luke," Daisy answers for both of us. "It all depends on the guy."

We had matched Bo's response but it had made Luke's face go from seriousness to annoyance. I knew he didn't really like our answer but it was true. We were picky about our men and we're always ready to find Mr. Right where ever we went. Bo and Luke liked to just have fun with the girls and not have to worry.

The rest of the drive was like a usual drive. We talked, as a big group and in little groups of two. This helps the time pass quickly. We pull into the park and quite a few people are already there. This is only a small fraction of people that will be here by the time the fireworks started. We pile out of the General once Bo parks, and Daisy and I pull two blankets out of the trunk. We make our way up the hill and stop when we get about half way up. Daisy and I set the blankets down and Bo and Luke help flatten them out. Once our spot is claimed, we begin our venture around the stands set up at the top of the hill.

"Ooo . . . look there," Daisy excitedly says pointing to a plate breaking booth.

I look at it a second and realize all the cool stuffed animals that were offered as prizes there. "I love the turtle!" I exclaim, having saw a green and blue turtle hanging among the other animals.

Daisy and I run up to the booth like little kids. We couldn't help it though; they looked cute and we are just being girls. "Two please," Luke says beside me, holding out money.

The man running the booth takes the money and hands 3 balls to Luke. He then grabs another set of 3 and looks at me and Daisy. "Those are for me," I hear Bo say. I look over at Daisy and Bo was on the other side of her. He takes the balls and quickly studies the plates. We all watch as Bo breaks a plate with each throw.

"You choose, Dais," Bo tells her when the man tells Bo to choose a small or medium prize. She studies everything for a minute and picks out a medium sized, pink bunny.

Bo, Daisy, and I then turn our attention to Luke. He seemed to be concentrating hard on the plates. He throws the first ball and amazingly breaks 2 plates. I look at him in shock and he throws the second one without looking away from the targets. Once again, he breaks 2 plates. He tosses the last one and we all look at him in complete shock, even the man running the booth. Luke had broken a total of 6 plates in the 3 throws. Even with our looks of shock, Luke has a look of achievement. He seemed to be happy with himself.

"Uhm . . . you can choose anything. Even the big ones," the man stutters out. "Actually, you can choose two if you want."

I look between the man and Luke. I couldn't believe what he had said. By the look on the man's face, he was regretting putting the plates too close together. But he knew that he had to properly reward the person that had figured out his mistake.

"I'll go with that little race car," Luke says pointing to a stuffed, orange race car on the side of the booth. It was a cute, little car. It reminded me of the General Lee. "I'll also take the big turtle up there."

I take the car from the man and watch with amazement as he pulls down one of the big stuffed turtles I said I loved. He hands it to Luke and that's when I realize how big it really was. It was almost my size.

"You didn't have to get the big turtle," I tell Luke as we all start to wonder around again. "I would have been fine with the small or medium one."

"Well I was aiming for him," he says with a smile.

Bo pipes in with, "You deserved to get the big one. I didn't even think of trying that."

"That guy's face was hilarious when he realized that the plates weren't far enough apart," Daisy adds.

I laugh as Luke says, "He just needed some help realizing it."

We all laugh as we make our way back to the blankets. Luke lays the turtle down on one of the blankets and that's when I realize that the turtle might be too big. It took up most of the blanket. There was nothing we could do about it so I decide to sit in front of it and lay back on it. Luke does the same as I did and Daisy and Bo sit on the blanket to my right. We all begin to relax as music filled the air. We soon forget about the disgusting weather and start to have fun.

As the bands switch, I realize that it was time for us to have some sweets. "Who's ready for some sweet treats?"

"Mixed cotton candy," Bo answers.

"I'll take cherry," responds Daisy.

"And you, Luke?" I ask as I stand up.

"A snow cone sounds good," he answers with a smile.

I nod and head back to the top of the hill. I step into a line for one of the many venders that were here. The line might be the longest of them all but I know I'm going to get some of the best stuff offered here.

"Hey Clara, what can I get ya?" my friend, Mary, asks.

"Hi Mary. I need 2 mixed cotton candies, a cherry cotton candy, and two snow cones," I tell her.

"What flavors?"

Without thought, I say, "Blue raspberry for both."

She smiles as she calls the order out. I start to pull money out of my pocket but Mary stops me. "Oh no, it's on the house."

"No," I protest. "I will pay for the stuff. I won't let ya lose money. You're still a new business."

"I don't care. You're one of my good friends and one of my favorite customers. It's either take 'em for free or get nothin' at all," she says, hands on her hips.

I stare her down for a second but I realize I won't win this time. She has always been the friend that I couldn't argue with. I sigh in defeat as I slip the money back into my pocket. Mary hops up and down in glee and runs off to the side of the booth to get my things. She comes back a minute later with 3 bags of cotton candy hooked onto a string and 2 foam cups filled with blue ice. I take the string in my left hand and hold it so I can also hold one of the cups. Once everything is settled in my left hand, I grab the second cup with my right.

I say bye to Mary as I turn to head back to the Dukes. I move my way through the growing crowd and let out a small sigh of relief that we had gotten here when we did. Breaking through the crowd, I spy the Dukes. And who could miss the giant, stuffed turtle Luke's lying on?

"Here we go, blue raspberry snow cone for Luke," I say as I hand him the one in my right hand. I then unhook 2 bags of cotton candy from the string and hand them to Bo and Daisy. "Cherry for Daisy and mixed for Bo."

I set down my cotton candy between Daisy and I and take my seat between Luke and Daisy. As I start to eat my snow cone, I look over at Daisy and she had a look on her face. It makes me wonder if she found something out from the guys while I was gone.

"Clara, will ya join me please?" Daisy asks me after a while. She nods her head toward the port-a-potties, letting me know where she wanted to go.

"Yeah, sure," I respond.

We both stand up and as we make our way over, I throw my snow cone cup away. I know she asked me to come with her because she wanted to talk alone.

"What's up?" I ask her.

We step in line and she turns to me. "You and Luke are perfect for each other."

I roll my eyes. "Daisy, I told you that I don't want ya to get involved. Besides, what make you think this all of a sudden?"

"Ya both know each other so well _and_ you both have a lot in common," she explains with an eager grin on her face. "The snow cones were the turnin' point for me in realizing that."

I look at her like she's crazy. "Daisy, you have to realize this; a lot of the stuff we both like is mainly because we introduced it to each other. I got Luke into blue raspberry snow cones at the county fair of 72'."

"Doesn't matter," she says before it is both of our turns for the bathroom. Once we're done, she continues our conversation as we walk back to the guys. "As long as ya both like it, you have it in common. Ya both work great together and look cute together. That kind of stuff makes great couples. And everyone can see that there is something between you two."

I shake my head when she says that. I will agree that we can work well together but everything else was crazy. You don't need to have things in common to be good for each other. I also don't get how there is something between Luke and I. That doesn't seem right.

As we approach the guys, I hear Luke say, "I doubt she likes me like that."

"Who don'tcha think likes ya like that?" I ask as I crawl back onto the turtle.

Surprise flashed over his face and as fast as the surprise appeared, it left and his face became unreadable again. "That girl over there," he answers as he points to his left.

I look around him and see a red head looking at Luke _and _Bo with lust in her face. I chuckle as I lean back. "Luke, ya have no reason to doubt anythin' like that. Any girl would like you whether it's your looks or personality."

He smiles when I say that. It wasn't his normal smile that he would give me. It's one of his smiles he uses to get women. I wonder if he meant to smile like that or not. I keep thinking about his smile and what he said as the last band finishes up.

"Well folks. It's getting' close to dusk and that means it is almost time for fireworks," the announcer says once the band finishes. "The first thing I want to do first is honor our veterans. Can all out veterans and servin' men please stand up."

At first Luke doesn't stand up and it takes Bo, Daisy, and I to get him up. The announcer calls out the different wars and the people wave their hand as they were called. When he calls Vietnam, Luke waves. The three of us cheer and seemed to be the loudest out of all the people. Amazingly we were embarrassing him because you could see his cheeks turn red even in the fading light. I laugh because I've never really seen him embarrassed.

Once the announcer was done, he asked us all to stand for the National Anthem. We all look at the flag on one of the ladder trucks as the lead singer of the last band sang. By the time the song ended, darkness was upon us and we had seconds to get comfy for the fireworks.

I lean back on my hands as I watch the fireworks. A minute in, I feel something warm on my left hand. It was strong and rough. I look down to see it was a hand. I follow the arm and find that it was Luke's. He seemed to not notice because he was focused on the fireworks. The feel of his hand felt nice so I turn back to the colorful display in the sky. It lasts for a little bit before it ends with the fiery explosion. Everyone cheers as it fills the night sky.

Once done, everyone gets up and hurries to their cars. The four of us though decide to sit and wait. We know that there is no use in rushing. When most people were at their cars, we decide to go back to the General Lee.

Luke grabs my turtle while I grab my car, cotton candy, and one of the two blankets. Bo grabs the other while Daisy holds her bunny and both of their cotton candies. With everything in our hold, we make our way through idling cars. Upon reaching the General Lee, Bo opens the trunk and him and I place the blankets back inside. I then climb in on the driver's side and slid into the back seat. Bo follows behind me, but instead of sliding into the back, he helps Luke get the turtle through the window. I couldn't help but laugh at their struggle. Daisy seemed to be joining me in laughter. I bet it looked just as funny from the outside as it did the inside.

After a few minutes, they get it inside and Bo hands it back to me. Luke climbs in and joins me in the back seat but on the other side of the turtle. Once Daisy climbs in, Bo joins the line of waiting cars.

The heat was apparently taking the energy out of me because I am tired. I set my bag of cotton candy and car on the floor, pull my legs up, and lean against the car frame. After a bit, I feel Bo pull onto the road. I've always loved the feel of riding in the General.

As I'm about to go into a deep sleep, I feel someone move a piece of hair that fell out of my braid and onto my face. I slowly open my eyes and realize I wasn't in the same position as when I first closed my eyes. I was lying against my turtle. Once my eyes adjust to the moonlight, I realize I wasn't just leaning against my stuffed turtle; I was leaning against Luke. He was lying back where the seat met the car frame. His head was lying against the frame and he seemed to be asleep. His right arm was draped over the seat and I could only figure that it was that hand that moved my hair.

I look up at the front seats and Daisy and Bo were quietly talking. They didn't seem to notice us back here. I decide to keep lying where I was. As long as I wasn't bothering Luke, it was okay. It has never bothered Luke but I've always felt bad for using him like that. But this time is different. I actually don't feel bad. I feel safe with him right there. I don't know why it has changed, but I like it.

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><p><strong>There ya go. It's long but it's worth it. I actually enjoyed writing this chapter. I thought about what 4th of July in my town is like and wrote along with it. Hope to get this story done by the time school starts again in mid-August. Review please. I like to see them.<strong>


	15. Close call and puppies

**Finally got this thing up. Got my wisdom teeth out yesterday morning and I'm not hurting as much a I thought I would.**

**I have and never will own Dukes of Hazzard.**

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><p>"10-4, Cooter. I'm on my way back to the garage," I say into the CB mic.<p>

Cooter had just finished cleaning and fixing up a clunker from the junk yard. He had wanted to see how it ran but sadly he had to finish Doc Appleby's car. Since I knew he really wanted to know how good of a job he did, I offered to take it for a spin. So far it runs really well and can get some good speed.

As I'm closing in on Rosco's speed trap, I let off the accelerator. However, the pedal didn't move along with my foot. I give it a couple nudges to see if it would dislodge but it wasn't working. I hear sirens behind me and realize I had passed the speed trap.

I look in my rearview mirror and see that it was Enos behind me. It seemed weird since that trap was mainly where Rosco sat. I sigh as I look back to the road and try the breaks. I don't know why I try them when I knew it wouldn't help any.

I steer along the road with ease from all the years I've sped down them. Suddenly a sharp turn appears and I know I won't be able to make it. I still try to drift around it but it doesn't work. The car turns and I realize I'm going to sideswipe the tree that was on the edge of the turn.

In an instant, I throw open the door and I jump out. I tuck and roll as I hear metal hit the big, solid tree trunk. I stoop rolling and quickly straighten up. Through the dust, I see the car and I thank god I jumped out when I did. I begin to cough and soon hear Enos catching up.

I stand and turn to the approaching patrol car that was emerging from the dust cloud. I put my hands up as he comes to a stop. Once stopped, I walk up to the car and get into the back seat. I really didn't feel like fight and running.

"I thought you would try running more," Enos says as he begins to drive to town.

"No use in tryin' to escape without a car," I inform him. "And once I'm locked up, can ya call Cooter and tell him that his car's back to its original form?"

"Sure thing." We ride in silence for a couple minutes before he asks, "Are ya okay?"

I nod my head. "I'm lucky it was a dirt road and not a paved or gravel road."

Enos doesn't say anything else for the rest of the drive. He's not much of a talker when arresting me or any of the Dukes. I would be the same way, so I really can't blame him.

He pulls up to the station and I let myself out of the car. Enos knows I wouldn't try to run when it was something as small as speeding. I go into the building and walk down the stairs to the lower cells. I step into the closest cell to the stairs and turn to watch Enos lock the door.

"Enos, can I get something to clean up with?" I ask. I was covered with dirt after rolling in it.

He nods and disappears from sight. He comes back a minute later with two towels. One I could guess was bathed in soap while the other was just water. I thank him as I gladly take them from him. He goes back upstairs and once he's out of sight, I sit on the cot and begin to clean off my legs. I'm cleaning off my arms when Enos bolts down the stairs.

"Is the buildin' on fire?" I ask him as he open up my cell door.

"No, Flash had her puppies."

"What?" I exclaim as I step out of the cell and throw the towels on the cell bars.

"Apparently Sheriff Rosco has been tryin' to get a hold of you for a while now," he says as I follow him upstairs. "I just now heard him call for ya on the CB."

"Did he get Jesse?" Rosco had insisted that Jesse help with the birth in case there was trouble.

"Yeah. He also said all charges are dismissed. Do ya need a ride?"

"Nah, I'm fine. I'll just run over to the garage and get my car. Thanks for offerin' though."

I give Enos a wave goodbye before I leave. I set out into the square and walk at a pace that was almost a run over to the garage.

"Coot, where'd ya put my keys?" I ask as I step into the bay.

I stop as he looks up to look at me. "On the bench. What happened to my car?"

I grab my keys and turn to see that Cooter was looking at the car I wrecked. "Right after I got done talkin' to ya, I found out that the accelerator was stuck. I couldn't take a turn and side swept a tree."

"It's a good thing ya jumped when ya did." I run out to my car and climb in. "Where ya goin'?"

"To Rosco's!" I yell. "Flash had her puppies."

With that I speed off and quickly pull up behind Jesse's white truck. As I step out of my car, the General Lee pulls up. I chuckle at the thought that we almost arrived at the same time. Bo, Daisy, and Luke climb out and I follow them to the front door. Bo knocks and Jesse quickly opens the door.

He signals for us to stay quiet as he lets us inside. He leads us to a back room where Rosco was standing in the doorway. He sees us and actually smiles. He steps aside and the four of us take his place.

The sight in front of us was beautiful. In the middle of the room layed Flash with five little puppies hanging off her belly. Both Daisy and I silently aw and I could swear I heard Bo and Luke do the same. We watch for a few minutes before Jesse pulls us away to the kitchen.

"Which are which?" I ask once in the room.

"Two boys and three girls."

"Can we have one of them Uncle Jesse?" Daisy asks.

"It depends on what Rosco and Clara decide."

As if on cue, Rosco walks in havin' caught the end of what Jesse said. "I want to keep at least one but I don't care which gender it is."

"I think I can convince Grandma to let me keep two. If so, it will be a boy and girl," I add.

Jesse thinks for a second then says, "Okay, one puppy. That leaves both Rosco and Clara with two."

"Sounds good," the five of us answer.

Now that the puppies are here we have to wait a couple of weeks before we can bring them home with us. Just more waiting for us all.

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><p><strong>Yay! Puppies are now in the world.<strong>

**I have a favor to ask of ya guys. I know y'all are Duke fan so I want ya to go check out _HazzardNet. com_. It is a great site related to Dukes of Hazzard and the forums are amazing. I know y'all would love it.**


	16. Anger

**This is my 4th draft of this chapter. I don't know why but I couldn't get this right. I think this is finally it though. I hope ya guys enjoy this.**

**I don't own any of the Dukes or anything from their world.**

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><p>"Everythin' is okay here, Grandma," I say into the phone in the kitchen. Grandma's 2nd cousin twice removed is getting married in Alabama and it took everything I had to get her to go. I had to stay behind because I had a whole weekend, including Friday and Monday, filled with getting paperwork done at the garage and taking yearly pictures of Boss. Luckily Lulu is the one to pay and pays more for the trouble Boss causes me.<p>

"Are ya sure?" she asks. "'Cause I can come home if I need to."

I chuckle and sigh. She worries about me even if she's in the next county over. "Yes, Grandma. Now calm down and enjoy yourself. If somethin' happens or goes wrong, Jesse will step in."

"But what if-."

"No buts. Enjoy your time away. I'll talk to ya tomorrow."

There is a long pause before Grandma replies, "Fine. Love ya, sweetheart."

"Love ya, too."

I hang up the phone and chuckle again. It's more work keeping Grandma away than it was to get her to leave. She knows everything will be okay. I turn around to grab my purse off the table but I end up jumping back against the counter.

"Ya scared me," I say once I catch my breath and my heart slows back down.

"You were too busy on the phone," Mom states, taking a seat at the table. "So where might my mother be on this lovely day?"

I lean against the counter, cross my arms, and scowl. "She's at your 3rd cousin's weddin' in Alabama."

"Why aren't you with her?"

"I have work to do here that can't wait till Tuesday."

"Why would you work when we send money?"

I let out a harsh laugh before responding, "I've told ya before Mom, you two never send enough money. And speakin' of you two bein' greedy; y'all almost got me killed."

Mom eyes me and crosses her arms. "How so?"

"Ya stole a deal out from under someone and they decided to try and get pay back through me."

She says nothing so I decide that our conversation is over. I pick up my bag from the table and go to the back door. I let out a whistle and Chester comes running in. I wasn't going to leave him here alone with Mom and Dad.

"That mutt's still here?" Mom asks with disgust in her voice. The way she said it is the exact reason why I won't leave him here.

I eye her as I put Chester's leash on. "He was a gift from a friend. And I love him. Chester is a great dog." Mom rolls her eyes and I do the same. I hold Chester's leash and walk him to the front door. "Don't wait on me to come home before ya leave."

With that, I walk out and head to my car. I pull my keys out of my bag and unlock the passenger door. Chester climbs in and I walk around the car to do the same. I quickly pull out of the driveway and race to town. About halfway there, the General Lee pulls up beside me with Bo and Luke smiling away.

"What brings a pretty gal like you out of the house?" Bo asks over the CB.

I grab the CB mic and respond, "Paperwork at the garage is callin' me. Besides, Mom and Dad are visitin' so I'm more than happy to do the work."

"The vultures are here?"

"Sure are. That's the big reason why this beast is sitting beside me." I hear the guys laugh over the roars of the engines. Chester is in no way a beast; he is a big softy. He won't even dare go near Boss and Rosco. "Where ya boys headin'?"

"Same place you are."

I chuckle. This meant a race. I quickly speed up and Bo didn't need a vocal queue to know what was happening. We race down the back roads, taking detours to make the race last longer. Chester barks every time Bo gets head of me, encouraging me to work harder. We finally end the race with me pulling up outside the garage first and Bo pulling into it.

"Those were some moves," I comment, getting out of my car with Chester following.

"Had to make up a few after seein' some of yours. Where'd ya learn those?" Bo asks, bending down to pet Chester who had ran straight up to him.

I look at him confused. "What do ya mean 'new moves'? I was drivin' the same as I always have."

"No," Bo protests, "those were new. You've never drove like that before. It was almost like you were angry or somethin'."

"Clara, angry? Those two things don't go in the same sentence," Cooter states as he walks out of the office and joins us in the bay.

"Very funny, Cooter. But I guess Bo is right. Mom made me mad before I left."

"What'd she say?" Luke asks.

I pull myself onto the hood of the General and face the guys. "Were to start? She had no comment when I told her about them almost getting me killed. Then she had the same attitude toward Chester that she always has had. Ya know . . . I'm gettin' real tired of them. I wish that after 21 years I could get the courage to speak my mind to them."

All three of the guys take a seat and silence fills the room. Cooter breaks the silence and says, "I think we all want to speak our minds to them."

"With the way they treat ya two," Luke adds, "the whole town would want to give them a piece of their mind."

I give a harsh laugh. "If they knew. No one thinks they visit anymore. They've learned to ignore them."

Bo leans over and lays a hand on my knee while giving me a caring smile. "Don't worry, Clara. This will hopefully be over soon."

I give Bo a weak smile. I keep wishing that it would be over with but it hasn't happened. As long as I'm here in Hazzard, they will keep coming; but I don't want to leave my home here along with my friends. "Thanks, Bo. But I doubt I will get away from them any time soon. It will take their deaths to get them to stop, and even that might not stop them. Ya know . . . ghosts."

All three of the guys laugh. "That sounds possible," Luke comments.

"Sure does," Cooter agrees. "Now how 'bout we get to work on this beauty you're sittin' on Clara?"

I nod and hop off the hood. Working on cars always helps me to clear my head and forget the bad.

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><strong>There ya go. Hope y'all enjoyed this. Don't forget to stop by my profile page for a look around. And don't forget to stop by i1976's also. They're a good friend of mine who can make some pretty good creations; picture and story wise.<strong>


	17. Date time

**I don't own Dukes of Hazzard.**

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><p>"What might you be all dressed up for?" Bo asks when I step out of Daisy's room. Grandma and I haven't had time to do laundry this week. So I need to borrow a pair of jeans from Daisy.<p>

"I've got a date," I answer as I sit beside him on the couch.

"I'm guessin' y'all are goin' to be gettin' dirty."

I nod my head. "Yep. We're goin' to be ridin' some dirt bikes."

"That should be fun. Maybe I should come along."

I eye Bo. "Not unless you have a date to take with ya. Otherwise, I'd rather you not."

"How come? Ya know ya love havin' me around."

I let out a fake laugh. "Not when I'm on a date. You and Luke always scare the guy away."

Bo gives me an innocent smile. He then puts his hand to his chest and innocently says, "Me? I do no such thing."

I stand up from the couch and shake my head as I do so. "Ya know ya do Bo. Now I've got to go. I'll see ya tomorrow."

"See ya, Clara."

I walk through the kitchen and out the back door. I have to go back home and finish a few things before I left to meet up with Dan in Hatchapee.

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><p>I follow behind Dan as we finish up the course. In Hatchapee, they have a little dirt bike course that a lot of people like to go to. It's a great place to practice your skills or to teach others a thing or two. We pull off the course and pull into a couple of spots by the snack bar. We both turn off the bikes and pull our helmets off.<p>

I shake my hair out as Dan says, "Not bad. I'm surprised for a girl like you."

I give him the stink eye. "What do ya mean 'a girl like me'? I've grown up around two guys and occasionally four. That gives me an excuse to be good at this. Besides, have ya seen how I dress?"

"I've only seen ya in those shorts of yours, a beautiful top, and a pair of heels. Those don't scream dirt bike rider."

I laugh as I get off the bike. "They don't. They also don't scream mechanic."

"You're a mechanic?" Dan asks quite a bit surprised as we walk up to the bar.

"Yeah. I've been doin' it for years now. I've learned quite a bit of stuff from the guys I've grown up with."

"Those guys must be real lucky to have you around."

"Oh, they are. They've gotten out of many sticky situations with my help."

"'Sticky situations'?"

I chuckle. Dan isn't from around Hazzard so he hasn't really heard of the Dukes. "Long stories."

He doesn't question my excuse for not telling him about the adventures the Dukes have and orders some cheese fries and two cokes. We take a seat when our fries were done and we begin to talk about me being a mechanic. He actually doesn't know as much about cars as I do and that surprises me. As I'm telling him about the General Lee, I spy familiar brunette curls across the group of table. Blue eyes were below the hair and I couldn't help but let out an angry sigh.

"Uhm, will ya excuse me for a minute?" I ask as I stand up. "I need to talk to someone."

"Uh, yeah, sure. Go ahead. I'll get ya another drink."

"Thanks." I walk across the flattened dirt and sit at the table Luke was sitting at. "What are ya doin' here?" I ask him, traces of anger and annoyance in my voice.

"What? I can't come dirt bikin'?" he asks me innocently.

I roll my eyes. I know Bo told Luke about my plans and he just had to come and check up on me. It also isn't hard to figure out where I was because this place is one of the only places to go to ride bikes other than to go off-roading.

"I know ya didn't come to ride bikes, Luke. If ya were, you would have a date with ya, or at least Bo and Daisy. Sadly, I don't see anyone with ya."

Luke's lips form a straight line as he thinks of what to say next. I know he hoped to convince me that he wasn't here to spy on me. Unfortunately for him, I'm not a naive teenager anymore. "Fine, I came to check up on ya. But it's for a good reason."

"What could be a good reason? I'm 26 years old. I can go out on a date without ya guys hoverin' over me." Luke says nothing for a good minute so I take that as a queue that I won this little argument. I stand up from the table and look down at Luke. "Now go back home, Luke. I mean it. Ya don't want to get caught out of the county without Boss's permission."

With that, I leave Luke and head back to Dan at our table. I take a seat and run my fingers through my hair in frustration. "Ya know that guy?" Dan asks.

"Yeah. . . . He's one of the guys I've grown up with."

"Did he make ya mad or somethin'?"

I look at Dan and give him a sweet smile. I guess Luke showing up tonight really ruffled me up. "Nah. He's just bein' a little too protective."

"Ya want to go somewhere else if he's annoyin' ya?"

I shake my head. "No, no. I'm fine. Why don't we go ride some more?"

"That sounds fine with me."

Dan gets up first and I tell him that I'll meet him at the bikes since I had to finish the second drink he got me. I quickly finish it and begin my walk back. When I'm almost there, a rock magically appears in my path and I end up tripping on it. I fall forward, fearing my safety. The last time I fell on my face, I had only gotten a few cuts on my face. But nothing happens the same way each time.

Hands grab my upper arms and I have to wait a minute to make sure I wasn't imagining. When I realize it was all real, I look up and see Dan looking at me with concern on his face. I give him a smile but I wasn't fast enough. I was pushed out of the way and I steady myself in time to see Luke punch Dan. He falls to the ground and I could see Luke getting ready to strike again.

"Luke!" I yell as I force myself between Luke and Dan. I couch down beside Dan as I yell at Luke, "What is wrong with ya?"

"What is wrong with me? He was hurtin' ya."

"How was he hurtin' me? He saved me from fallin' on my face." Luke looked like he was at a loss for words. He had jumped into action without assessing the situation. Bo's supposed to be the one that does that, not Luke. I turn to Dan who was propping himself up on his elbows. "You okay?"

"Yeah, uhm," Dan stands up and I do the same, "I actually realized that I have to work in the mornin' and it's gettin' late. I had a fun time though."

I put a fake smile on my face as I nod my head. I know that he doesn't really have to work in the morning. All the guys use that kind of excuse. And it's also 8:30 and he lives here in Hatchapee. "I did too. I guess I'll see ya around."

He tries to smile as he climbs on his bike. "Yeah. I'll see ya."

I watch as he puts mine and his bike on his truck and drives off. He isn't going to see me again. He'll try and avoid me as much as possible. Anger bubbles inside me and I turn to Luke. "See. _That_ is why I don't tell you and Bo about my dates half the time."

"You've been on more dates?" he asks me surprised.

I roll my eyes. "Yeah. Ya guys always do this. Ya butt in and make the guy feel uncomfortable. Then they are afraid of me and don't want to go out again. I'm sick and tired of it."

With that I push past Luke and go back to my car. I quickly pull onto the main road and head toward Hazzard. I'm tired of all of this. I guess I know how Daisy really felt when she got tired of Bo and Luke.

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><p>"Clara, the farm isn't the same without ya there," Daisy tells me when she gives me a new beer.<p>

I take a sip of the new beer and stare at it. It's been a week since Luke ruined my date and I've vowed not to speak to him. That involved avoiding the farm which meant I also haven't seen Jesse, Bo, and Daisy as much.

"I'm sorry Daisy but Luke went too far. I'm tired of it," I rant back to her.

"I felt the same way. Ya know that. Ya also know that I couldn't handle not bein' around him or Bo."

"But ya live with them Daisy; I don't. That means I'm able to adjust to not bein' around them."

Daisy looks at me like she doesn't believe what I said. I don't even know if I believe myself. I guess I have started to miss the guys. "Look, Clara. Luke feels really bad about what he did to Dan. He just wants to talk. And Bo wants to, too. Please go to the farm and talk to them."

"No, Daisy. I'm not goin' to."

She lets out a defeated sigh but something didn't read right in her face. She knew something. "Okay then. You can talk to them here."

I look at her confused. "Huh?"

"Hey Clara."

I knew the voice. I turn to see Bo and Luke standing behind me. I look behind me to look at Daisy but she was nowhere in sight. I sigh and look at the guys. They knew I would try to run to get away from them so they stood close enough to me that there was no room for me to slip out. Realizing that this was going to happen, I sigh and say, "Hey."

"I'm really sorry, Clara," Luke says, almost repeating what Daisy said. "I feel really bad that I butted in like that without gettin' to know the situation first."

"Same for me," Bo speaks up, "but for all the other times I've ruined one of your dates."

"We have been treatin' ya like we had Daisy. She got herself into trouble because we were snoopy. We don't want the same thing to happen to you."

I look between the two. They both looked really sincere. And when they look it, they really mean it. They also look like they really missed me. In a way, I feel the same. I let out a sigh before saying, "I guess I forgive ya guys. Just please promise me ya won't follow me and my dates again. If I need help with a guy, good or bad, I'll ask ya both."

"Alright," Luke answers without hesitation.

"We promise to stay out of it," Bo adds.

It sounded like they were ready to agree with whatever I said. I can't help but chuckle at them which makes them look at me confused. I just smile and tell them, "Nothin'. How 'bout I buy ya guys some beers?"

They both smile and nod. I guess having known each other for so long has made it easier to make up after fights. I feel thankful for that.

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><p><strong>Here ya go. I got this up finally. I can be so lazy when it comes to editing these chapters. Little update for y'all, school is awesome this year. Learning to be a cosmetologist while still in high school. Two years and I can cut hair for a living.<strong>


	18. Bringing the Puppies Home

**Sorry 'bout the wait. But like they say, good things are always worth the wait.**

**I don't own the Dukes but I do own the idea of Chester and the puppies.**

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><p>"Hey Clarabelle. Come on inside, and bring Chester along. Flash and the pups are in the living room," Lulu greats then steps aside.<p>

"Hey Lulu." I step in and lead Chester to the living room.

Once Chester sees Flash and the puppies, he pulls against the leash I had attached to his collar. I stoop down and unclip him, in which he quickly bolts to the puppies and starts playing around with them in the middle of the room with Flash watching on the side. Since the puppies were born, I've visited Rosco's and let Chester spend some time with them. I didn't want to separate them and Rosco all but agreed with me.

I step into the room and take a seat on the couch to watch the dogs play. Lulu joins me and we just watch the dogs in silence. I'm here at Lulu's today because I'm taking 3 of the 5 puppies to their new homes. 2 of them will stay with me and then I'll drop off the other one at the Duke farm. The puppies that are coming home with me are a boy, Duke, and girl, Lily. The Dukes decided on the second boy who they decided to name Rebel. Rosco is then left with the other 2 girls, which he hasn't told me what he has named them yet.

"I'm goin' to be sad not having Duke, Rebel, and Lily when my brother drops the dogs off," Lulu says as the three she mentioned started to play with each other.

I chuckle. "Don't worry; I'll bring Duke and Lily by as much as I can. I'm not goin' to keep them separated from their siblings."

Lulu smiles and pulls me into a side hug. "That's sweet, Clara. I'm surprised ya don't own more dogs or animals with how ya treat Chester and now Duke and Lily."

"Well Grandma has the final say in that stuff," I tell her with a smile. "I wouldn't have her any other way."

"_No one_ would want her any other way. The same goes for you too."

I can feel the heat gather in my cheeks so I turn to the dogs. Rebel decides to split from the pack and join me on the couch. He climbs onto my lap and spreads out, wanting me to scratch his belly. I do as he wishes and scratch him. I catch a glimpse of my watch and see that I've over stayed my welcome.

"I would really like to stay longer, Lulu," I say as I pick Rebel up and move him so I can stand up, "but I have to get goin'. I have to drop Rebel off at the farm, and then I have to get home to get dinner started before Grandma gets back to town."

"Can ya stay a few minutes longer? I just made some fresh double chocolate chip cookies drizzled in chocolate."

I contemplate as I hook the leash onto Chester. "I can take a plate home. I'll leave some at the Duke Farm too."

Lulu gets a big smile. She loves to send goodies home with me and the Dukes. We are some of her favorite people other than Rosco, Enos, and Boss. She gets up off the couch and goes to the kitchen. I pull three leashes out of my bag and round up the three puppies I was taking with me. It doesn't take Lulu long to fill up two plates and cover them. She helps me by bringing them out to my car while I dealt with the four dogs. I open up the passenger side door and push the seat forward. I pull out the dog carrier I had gotten and place all three puppies inside. I slide it back into the back seat and Chester climbs in after them. I slide the seat back and turn to Lulu to take the plates. I place them in the front seat and close the door.

I give Lulu a hug and she says, "Stay safe."

"I'll try. We'll see if I run into your brother or Enos on the road."

Lulu chuckles and I wave bye as I walk around to the driver's door. I climb in and speed off to the Duke Farm. I try to be careful and not jostle the carrier around; though it's a little hard to do so when I'm use to driving down these roads fast and rough.

I pull up to the Duke Farm in no time and find Jesse pulling some stuff out of the back of his truck. He must have just gotten home from Capital City. I pull up beside him and say as I climb out, "Looks like I came at the best time."

He looks at me and chuckles. "Ya did. I just got back. I guess ya brought Rebel?"

"Of course." I get into the back seat and open up the carrier. I pull out Rebel and close the carrier with the help of Chester. I get out of the car and grab one of the plates of cookies before turning to Jesse. "Here ya go; one bloodhound and basset hound mix with some complementary cookies thanks to Chief Hogg, Lulu Hogg."

Jesse takes Rebel and the plate of cookies. "The boys and Daisy will sure love these. You and Catherine have any?"

"Oh course we do. Lulu wouldn't let me leave without taking a plate for ourselves. And I wouldn't leave without takin' any either. These are good cookies."

"They sure are. When's Catherine comin' back?"

"Tonight. Which means I have to get goin' 'cause I have to get dinner started for her. I think she would like not havin' to fix it after a long drive home."

"True. I guess I'll let ya be. See ya tomorrow, Clara."

I walk around my car and give Jesse a smile. "See ya later, Uncle Jesse."

I give him a wave as I drive away. I look at the time and realize that I was behind schedule. A time savor I could think of is to jump. I slide into the next turn and I'm quickly approaching Hazzard Creek. I look in the back seat as I get closer and remember that I can't jump.

I quickly slam on the brakes and barely stop in time. I let out a sigh and put the car in park. I turn back to the back seat and look at the two little puppies in the carrier. Duke and Lily aren't big enough to ride in here when I jump. I chuckle when I suddenly start thinking of when Bo and Luke took me on my first jump in the General. It was only a couple weeks after they did their very first one.

"_Where are we going?" I ask when I see that we're heading toward Hazzard Creek._

"_We're goin' to Hazzard Creek," Bo replies behind the wheel._

_I look between the two confused. "Why?"_

"_We want to try and get to the other side."_

"_How?" Suddenly, I remember the boys saying that they jumped the General Lee a couple weeks ago when they first got him. Fear suddenly fills me up. "Oh no. No. You two aren't goin' to jump that thing with me in here. You've only jumped the General Lee once and survived. Who says that wasn't just luck? Ya really want to risk our lives over something that's reckless?"_

"_We've risked our lives before," Luke states. "Runnin' shine was life riskin'."_

"_Well runnin' shine only got ya two almost put in jail till y'all died. This is instant death. Besides, _I _didn't run shine."_

"_No ya didn't. But don't ya trust us?"_

"_Of course. But _this_ I don't. So turn this car around right now."_

"_No."_

"_Yes."_

"_I'm not turnin' around."_

"_Then I'll just jump out the window." Luke moves closer to me, making me stuck between them. "Move, Luke."_

"_No. You will stay right here," he tells me._

_I look out the front window and see that we were getting closer to the creek. I do trust Bo and Luke but I don't think this will work. I just feel that the guys got lucky with the jump. "How come you're doin' this to me first and not Daisy?"_

_Both guys look at each other like they didn't plan that part through. "Uncle Jesse would have been upset if there wasn't one of us to pass on the Duke name," Bo answers._

"_But there is Coy, Vance, Jebb, and many, _many_, other cousins to pass on the name. Grandma only has me. I think she would be furious and probably become depressed."_

_Once again, the guys look at each other confused. I feel proud of myself for out thinking them. Hazzard Creek comes into view, allowing the guys to avoid a response. "Hold on," Bo tells us._

_I push myself back into the seat and thoughts speed through my mind. I feel Luke and Bo tense up on either side of me which makes me fear more. The guys didn't trust that they would make it again. I just know we are going to die._

_We quickly come up on the creek and I feel the General hit a dip and a little lift that was like a ramp. Everything turns to slow-mo as we soar into the air. It is the most amazing thing; I forget my worries of jumping. It's like we were in a plane, but we are so close to the ground and we're obviously in a car. It seems like forever before the ground on the other side of the creek comes into view. Seeing it makes me start to worry again. I close my eyes, hoping it will help if we do crash and die._

_I feel a rough thud and the sound of the General Lee's engine fills the compartment again. I feel us stop and I open my eyes. I look around and notice trees all around. I look behind us and long behold the creek was there. I turn back around and look at Bo and Luke with utter shock. The guys had looks of amazement on their faces with huge grins._

"_I don't believe what we just did," I finally say._

"_And you didn't trust us," Bo comments, nudging my arm._

"_I didn't. But that was amazin'. You need to teach me how to do that."_

_Both guys laugh as Bo starts to drive again. I really meant it though; it was so cool._

I smile and shake my head as I remember that day. It's hard to believe that it took that one jump to get me hooked on doin' it. It's become our way of fun and our way to get to places faster. I turn back around in my seat and put my car into reverse. I get myself back onto the main road and take the roads home. The house comes into sight quickly and I swiftly pull into my spot in the driveway.

I quickly turn off the car and run to the other side. I open the door and once I get the seat moved, Chester jumps out and runs to the front door. I pull the carrier out and Chester begins to bark away as I make my way to the door. He had to be excited to have the puppies here. I unlock the door and Chester quickly makes his way inside. I chuckle as he hounds me while I walk to the kitchen. I lay the carrier on the table and open it up.

"Welcome home," I say as I pull Duke and Lily out and sit them on the floor.

They look around confused but quickly begin sniffing around. I chuckle as I follow them, making sure they don't get into any trouble. Once they are done, I open the back door and let them outside. I quickly grab Chester before he goes out the door and move his head so I could look him in the eyes.

"Now listen here, Chess I want ya to keep watch of those two. Make sure they stay inside the fence and don't get into trouble." Chester barks and I pat his head. "Good. Now keep those two out of my hair while I make dinner. Grandma will be home soon."

Chester runs out and I stand up while watching him. He joins the two and I couldn't help but smile. Those puppies were nice to have around. I haven't seen Chester this energized since Judd brought him down. These puppies might make life a little more sweeter around here.

* * *

><p><strong>There ya have it. Y'all like?<strong>

**P.S. ~ Cosmo is so much fun. I can't wait to get my license but I also don't want these two years to end.**

**P.S.S. ~ I also bought my first Dukes DVDs. It's season 5 and yes, I know it's Coy and Vance's season but I haven't seen any of the episode. So that's my reason for getting it.**


	19. The Big 3-0

**I feel pretty good right now. 2 in the morning, Dukes playing, and my second chapter in a couple hours. I guess it helps that they were already writen, typed, and only needed editting.**

**I don't own the Dukes or any of the Hoggs.**

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><p>"Not too bad," Bo comments.<p>

"Better than your shot which went over into that tree." I didn't even need to point to where it was.

Bo and I decided to take Luke out to shoot some arrows today to keep him out of town for a little bit. Luke had shot a few arrows first and when Bo was taking his turn, I decided to _accidently_ fall onto the horn of the General Lee. He was so surprised that he had jumped when he let go of the arrow and it went into a tree to the right of the target.

"That shot didn't count. You were the cause of it goin' off track," Bo shoots back.

"I think it does too count, Bo. And you have no proof that I meant to hit the horn."

Bo steps up to me so that he would tower above. He only did this when we had a playful fight like this. "I can get all the proof I need."

"I doubt it," I respond, puffing my chest out to make myself look tougher and taller.

"Calm down you two," Luke says stepping between us. Both Bo and I smile and laugh at Luke. He must not have realized we were playing.

"Ya know we wouldn't hurt each other, Luke," I state.

Luke gives me the stink eye. "I've seen ya two. You've come very close many times before."

I stick my tongue at him playfully. Then, I quickly turn back to the target and fire an arrow. I watch as it lands in the bull's eye and have a silent celebration in my head. I turn to the guys and cross my arms over my chest in triumph.

"It's sad how I can do that but y'all can't."

I turn back to the target and begin to walk up to it as Bo says, "We just want ya to feel good."

I pull out my arrows and look back at the guys. "Sure ya do. I've also heard people around town say you can't do it either."

They give me looks that I know are supposed to scare me but they don't. I've seen them so many times that it doesn't faze me one bit.

I hold the arrows out to them when I make my way back. "Want to try and prove me _and_ them wrong?" I ask. I know they can't resist the offer I'm giving them. They each take an arrow and I get an evil grin. I step out of their way and watch. I just gave every one at the Boar's Nest more time to get ready.

"You guys have been acting weird today," Luke states as we drive to the Boar's Nest. "Like randomly wanting to practice shootin' arrows off the farm."

"I felt like we needed the practice," Bo lies.

"And Bo told me the plan and I wanted to join in. I felt like it would be nice to fire in a different setting," I add to Bo's lie. We were put in charge of keeping Luke away from everyone while they got the Boar's Nest ready. We had to keep him away till someone said a chosen key phrase over the CB that didn't seem conspicuous to Luke.

"I don't know whether to believe ya two or not."

Bo and I give Luke our sweetest smiles. Bo and I only gave these smiles when we wanted to get ourselves out of trouble or show off our good side. We've had our whole lives to perfect this smile and it works practically every time.

Luke doesn't respond which makes me worried. It's hard to tell if he has guessed what was coming or not. Bo and I keep small talk going as we continue the drive to the Boar's Nest. We finally arrive and there wasn't many cars parked. Luke had a confused look on his face, which means he must have thought that there would be a lot of people here.

"Expectin' more people?" I ask him.

He looks at me surprised, like he didn't expect me to notice his reaction. "No. It's just the normal crowd for this time of day."

I shake my head as Bo parks. Luke's trying to guess what's going on and can't figure it out. Bo helps me out of the General and the three of us make our way to the entrance. I allow Luke to enter first and Bo and I give each other a smirk as we stay outside. It only took a minute for multiple "Happy Birthdays" to fill the air. Bo and I step inside to find everyone surrounding Luke who hadn't gotten that far into the room. He looked completely surprised which meant we succeeded in our plan and Bo and I did our job perfectly. Luke looks at me and he didn't look too pleased. I give him my sweetest smile again but it didn't seem to help.

"Happy birthday, sugar," Daisy says as she gives Luke a hug.

"Why'd ya do this, Dais?" Luke asks.

"It's not every day you turn 30," she replies as she leads him to the bar.

There sits a cake with Grandma on the other side of it and the bar. "Happy birthday, sweetheart," she tells Luke.

"Thanks" was his only response.

The candles were quickly lit and everyone erupts into song. Once we finish, Luke blows them out and cuts his slice of cake. The rest of the cake is then handed out and everyone begins to chat. I'm talking with Maybelle when I look around the room and can't see Luke. I excuse myself and lay my almost finished piece of cake down. I walk around the place and still can't find him. I step outside and my eyes catch a glimpse of some colors other than the General's special orange on his hood. I smirk as I walk over and climb atop his hood so I was reclining beside Luke.

"Ya really shouldn't have done all of this," he says.

"I know; it was Daisy's idea. She really wanted to do it so we all joined in."

"I had it figured out that it was her idea. I bet she invited all of the woman in Hazzard too."

I shake my head. "They all came without an invite. I think they just came in hopes of marriage soon since you're entering your 30s."

"That probably won't happen any time soon. I probably won't find the right one until I get off probation, whenever that will happen." I look at him and he looks at me. "What's been keepin' _you_ from findin' a spouse?"

I felt slightly insulted. He definitely knows how to push my buttons. I shove his side and I end up pushing him off the hood by accident. Luke lands on his face and I couldn't help but laugh. He quickly picks himself up and cleans off the dust that was all over his front.

"Come on," Luke says over my laughter. "Let's go back inside."

I nod in agreement and climb off the General, still laughing. It was too funny not to react like I am.

"Happy birthday, Duke."

Both Luke and I stop in our tracks when we hear the voice. We both turn around to find not one, but two of Boss's crocked nephews.

"What might y'all be doin' here?" Luke asks.

"Isn't there a law now in this county that says anyone can kick your butts to the county line when spotted?" I add.

"Well," Dewey says, "I was hoping for a warm welcome from ya Clara."

"What made ya think that?" I cross my arms and glare at the two.

"For instance, ya almost kissed me last time I was here."

I think long and hard to remember what he was talking about. I give a harsh laugh when I remember. "Ya really thought I was goin' to do that? I was just tryin' to get dirt from ya so we could get ya out of town for good."

"You can keep tellin' yourself that but ya know ya really want some of me."

I roll my eyes and resist the urge to gag. Hughie pipes up and says, "Hopefully Daisy will give us a better greeting then what ya both have."

I look at Luke and he was thinking the same thing I was. We give each other a nod and turn to the two Hoggs. Before they realized what was coming, Luke and I both throw a right hook at each of them and they are knocked to the ground. Luke and I both laugh as they look at each other in shock and confusion.

"I tell ya, Dewey, it's sad that I can still beat ya up," I comment.

"It truly is sad," Luke agrees. He puts an arm around my shoulders and continues. "Here's a little advice for the two of ya: get out of town now before you're on the ground again and beaten to a pulp by the rest of Hazzard."

Luke and I both laugh and continue our walk back to the Boar's Nest. Nothing like punching a couple Hoggs onto their butts, especially on one's birthday.

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><p><strong>There y'all go again. Hope ya enjoyed. Remember to keep 'tween the ditches as the holidays come around.<strong>


	20. Luke's New Girl

**Less than 24 hours since the last chapter. I'm on a roll.**

**I don't own the Dukes but I own any of the characters that haven't appeared in the series before.**

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><p>I pull up to the Boar's Nest upon finishing work and see the General Lee by the front doors. I figured the guys would be here at this time of day. I walk in and find Luke with a petite looking red head in a booth in the corner. They looked to be a little cozy in their semi-secluded corner. I don't see Bo around which makes me think Luke is on a date. I stroll to the bar and Daisy hands me a beer as I take a seat.<p>

"Who's the little red head with Luke?" I ask her as I take a sip of beer.

"Megan Summers. She's new to town and they just seemed to run into each other a couple days ago." I watch the two of them as she talks. Something about Megan seemed off to me.

I turn back to Daisy and we talk about our plans we had for this weekend. "Hey Clara." I turn to see Luke behind me with Megan beside him who actually looked to be about my height.

"Hey Luke."

"Clarabelle, I would like to introduce ya to Megan. Megan, this is Clarabelle."

"Nice to meet ya," I say as I hold my hand out.

"Same. Luke's said a lot about you," she says shaking my hand. She seemed to be from the west on account of her accent. I wouldn't have thought of Luke liking someone from there.

"Well Luke's said nothing about you," I reply giving Luke the stink eye.

Luke looks at the wall then turns to Megan. "The movie's goin' to start soon. We should get goin'."

"Okay. It was nice to meet you." They turn toward the door and walk out.

"Same here." Once they're gone I turn to Daisy. "There's something off about her."

"I sense the same thing. I don't know what but I hope Luke can feel it too."

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><p>Bo and I run out of the barn toward where my car and the General Lee were parked. As we run, I notice Luke and Megan walk out of the farm house and down the porch.<p>

"Hey Luke! Want to come swimming with Bo and I? The last one there has to skinny dip!" I call as I open up my door.

"It can be me and you against Clara!" Bo calls from his perch in the General's window.

I can see the excitement appear in Luke's face. He always enjoys a good race. Megan leans into him, whispers something in his ear, and the excitement leaves his face. Megan then speaks up and says, "Luke's too old for that. We're taking a calm walk to the creek."

With that, they walk off leaving Bo and I speechless. We look at each other across the cars with matching looks of confusion. Bo jumps out of the General and yells, "Luke!" while running after the couple.

I quickly follow suit and Bo pulls Luke to the side. I catch up and join the two away from Megan. "Are ya okay?" I ask in a lover tone so Megan wouldn't hear.

"Of course. Why?"

"Well ya love to race and ya never second think a swim," Bo answers with a concerned look.

"I just don't feel like it today," he says. With that, he walks back to Megan and they walk away. Bo and I just stand and watch the two.

"Something's wrong here," Bo states.

I shake my head. "There sure is."

After one last look we decide to go back to the cars. We agree to call a truce and end the race. The thing with Luke dampened our moods. I'm going to find out more about Megan; I know for sure she is hiding something.

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><p>I'm at the Duke Farm today to help Jesse with some of the things around the house while Daisy is at the Boar's Nest all day. The guys are still in the fields working so I'm on the couch, trying to catch up on the newest book in this series I had just gotten hooked on.<p>

"Luke, I'm here!" I hear called after the kitchen door opens. I sadly know the voice and I wish I was dreaming.

"Luke's still out in the field," I say standing up and laying my book on the couch. To my luck, I wasn't dreaming and Megan was the one that walked in.

Her face goes from the innocent look she always had to an evil one. She seemed happy that Luke wasn't here. "Oh. Well I guess this gives me time to talk to you."

I look at her curious and move around the couch. "Me?"

She crosses the room and stops inches away from me. Megan had decided to wear heels which made her taller than me. That allowed her to tower over me and try to look intimidating. It wasn't working though; not many women can scare me, especially city girls. "Yeah. I want you to stay away from Luke. His potential is being held back because of you. So if you want what's best for him, you'll stay away."

"He's been able to be all he can be. What makes you think I'm holding him back? You don't know him like I do."

"I _do _know him more than you. So stay away. Otherwise I'll make you stay away."

"Now listen here you-," I start to say but am interrupted by Luke walking in.

"You ready?" he asks seeing Megan.

"Yeah," she replies sweetly. I can't believe what I just witness. Megan went from sweet, city girl to jealous, jungle cat and back to city girl in seconds. That proves my instincts have been true.

"Luke, can I talk to ya alone for a second?"

"Sure. You can wait in the General, Megan."

She gives him a kiss and steps out. "Luke, are you sure that ya know Megan as well as you think ya do?"

"Oh course. Why?"

"Well she just threatened me and told me to stay away from you."

Luke looked at me like I was crazy. "She would never say somethin' like that. She loves all of ya."

"She _threatened_ me, Luke. She truly threatened me. If I don't know what a threat is, then I don't know what I've heard so many times in my life. She even said she knew ya more than me which is obviously not true."

"You're hearing things."

My temper is rising all because of Luke. He wasn't listening to me. "I am _not,_ Luke. I'm telling the truth."

"No. You're not." He turns away from me and starts to walk toward the back door.

I grab his shoulder, stopping him in his place. I move in so I can see his face and ask, "Ya don't believe me, do ya? You'd rather believe someone you've only known for a short time rather than someone you've known for a long time?"

He jerks his shoulder so my hand was thrown off it. Without a word, he continues his walk to the door and I watch him as he steps through it. I can't believe what I had just witnessed. Luke, of all people, believed his girlfriend over his family. Luke was even the one to say that love isn't love if a woman comes between a man and his family.

I head back to the couch but don't sit down. I smack the back of it in frustration and lean against it, my head hanging. I need to figure all this out; this Megan thing has gone on for far too long now.

* * *

><p>"There is something strange about her, Enos. Luke is a completely different person. She's even threatened me to stay away from him," I rant to Enos.<p>

"Maybe you just think she threatened ya."

I look at Enos like he was crazy. "No, I heard her loud and clear. She is up to somethin' and there is somethin' she isn't tellin' everybody. I know it. I can feel it deep down."

The fax machine goes off by the upper cell and Enos runs over to it, collecting a piece of paper that was printed. "I think you're right about her hidin' somethin', Clara," Enos announces as he reads the paper. He walks over to me and holds it out. "Ya might want to see this."

I take the paper and the first thing I see is a big picture of Megan. Underneath it read: "Wanted. Teresa Summers. Red hair, brown eyes, 5'6", goes by Megan Summers, Amanda Summers, Teresa Wilson, and multiple other names. Wanted for the murder of Marines alongside her husband, Matt Summers, a former Marine. Last seen in Atlanta. They could be armed and dangerous. Take caution."

I feel all the blood in my body fall to my feet. Luke was a Marine, which means that he's their next target. I have to tell Luke. I shove the paper back into Enos' hand and bolt out of the building. I jump into the passenger window of my car like it was the General Lee and quickly start up the engine, wasting no time racing out of the square. Luke's supposed to leave in about half an hour for a weekend get away with Megan and if I don't hurry, she might just do something sneaky.

"Cow Bell to Lost Sheep 1. Lost Sheep 1, ya got your ears on?" I ask over the CB hoping Luke was in ear shot of one of the CBs on the farm. "Lost Sheep 1. Ya better be listenin' Luke."

I throw the mic down in frustration when I get no response. "Come on Luke," I say aloud, "I know you're in ear shot."

I quickly put on the breaks as a down tree appears in the middle of the road. I pull off to the side and hop out, heading to the broken end of the trunk. "What on Earth?" I question. The end of the tree isn't rugged like it snapped but smooth like it was cut.

"Hold it right there." I feel the end of a gun barrel press against my spin. "Don't turn around."

Female hands grab both my wrists and jerk them behind me. They get tied up then a gag is placed in my mouth. I'm jerked around and led over to a tree far off from the road. I'm turned around and pressed against the tree, finally able to see who had the gun and hands. To my surprise, it was Megan and who I could only guess to be her husband, Matt.

"Hello, sweetheart," Matt says to me.

"Sorry we couldn't give you better accommodations," Megan sarcastically tells me as she pushes me down so I was sitting against the tree. She ties my feet together then ties me to the tree as she adds, "It was such short notice."

"Ya won't get away with this," I try to say through the gag in my mouth.

Megan smirks, telling me she understood what I had said. "I don't think so, darling. To me, it looks like you're out of commission. And those other Dukes and that stupid mechanic are a little tied up too. Have fun without Lukie around."

I pull against the ropes and the two of them laugh as they walk away. I keep pulling at them with no progress. What a day for me to keep my knife in my boot and not my back pocket. Luke will be dead by the time someone finds me out here or gets the others free. Time seems to go by slowly as the wind creates the only sound, rustling the leaves. Slowly I start to hear something other than the leaves. It sounded like a familiar voice. It gets closer and I can finally understand the voice and it was an all too familiar one I've known for years.

"Clara! Clara! Come on out Clara! I know you're out here! Your car's on the side of the road!"

"Coy! Coy! Over here!" I try and yell. I know it's mumbled but hopefully it was loud enough for him to hear. "Coy! I'm over here!"

I keep yelling, almost making my voice hoarse in hopes that Coy could hear me. "Clarabelle!" I hear Coy yell. This time he sounded really close. Coy appears beside me and pulls the gag out of my mouth.

"You don't know how happy I am to see ya, Coy. Now hurry and get me out of these things."

He gets to work and gets the ropes undone in an instant. I'm quickly on my feet and running to my car. "What's the hurry, sugar?" Coy asks as he appears beside me. I tell him the whole story of Luke and Megan and what I saw at the courthouse. "Only my cousin to get into trouble like this. Do the others know?"

"Probably. They're tied up some place."

"The farm?"

I shake my head. "No. Luke would notice them there. I'm thinkin' they're at Cooter's. Megan said that they tied him up too."

"Then let's get going."

We speed up our paces and quickly reach our cars. I turn toward town first and Coy follows behind. I spy the clock on my dash and can't believe my eyes. I was tied up for almost 20 minutes. I could turn around and get Luke now but I don't know what condition the others are in. We quickly make it to town and Coy and I skid to a stop in front of the garage. The General and Dixie were parked outside, though that didn't exactly mean they were in the garage. I jump out and run to the door that leads into the bay. For my inconvenience, the door is locked. I try the garage doors and those were locked too along with the door to the office.

I curse under my breath as I turn around to go back to my running vehicle. "Anyone there?" Coy asks.

"Don't know. All the doors are locked. That has to be an indication that someone's inside."

I pull the keys out of the ignition and run back to the bay door. I unlock the door and bolt inside; spying Jesse tied to a chair. I then see two people in the car that Cooter was working with earlier. I run to the driver's window and see that it was Bo and Cooter tied up inside. Lastly, I see Daisy tied to the work bench on the other end of the bay.

Coy starts untying Jesse while I run up to Daisy and start untying her. "Megan?" I ask.

"Sure was. And some man with her."

"That was her husband which I will explain later. Do ya still have a bow in your jeep?"

Daisy looks at me a little confused. "Yeah."

"Great. Can I barrow your jeep then? I need to do some off roadin' if I'm goin' to catch up with Luke."

I get her hands untied and she pulls her keys out of her pocket. She hands them to me and I quickly run to Coy once I get her completely untied. I hand Coy my car keys and instruct, "Grab my bow and arrows from the trunk, then give Daisy the keys. And hurry; its life or death at the moment."

He nods and runs outside. I finish untying Jesse and he grabs my arm before I bolt. "What are ya plannin', Clara," he asks concerned.

"It's complicated. Just get Bo and Cooter untied and call Rosco and Enos. Meet Coy and I as fast as y'all can."

"Where?"

"Where ever we end up on Luke's route."

"Be careful. I don't want three of ya injured or killed."

"Don't worry, Uncle Jesse."

I give him a smile and he lets go of my arm. I quickly run out of the building, passing Coy, and climb into Dixie. Coy comes back outside with my bow in hand and climbs in the passenger seat. I don't wait for him to buckle up before I take off out of town. When we reach the first patch of green fields, I turn off the road and cut cross country.

"Ya mind tellin' me the plan that's runnin' through your mind?" Coy asks.

I think back to Jesse asking me and I couldn't help but feel bad. "It's not much of a plan to be honest. I just know that we need to cut off Luke and make sure his "girlfriend" doesn't get away or does anythin'." Not much of a plan for a girl that's thought of many other plans like Luke's.

"Bow?"

I nod. "You'll use Daisy's bow which is in the back seat."

"Why do _I _have to use Daisy's bow?" Coy whines.

"Because one of the bows is mine, so _I _will use my own."

"Fine."

I chuckle as I continue our trip across country. Coy can be childish sometimes. I make it to the edge of the county and drive along it till I come to the road I know Luke is driving. I begin to follow alongside it and finally see Luke coming toward us. I grin as I speed up toward him.

"Hand me my bow, Coy," I instruct, holding my hand out. I feel it in my hand, so I lay it in my lap while unclipping my seatbelt. "Get ready Coy. We're goin' to be actin' fast."

I slide to a stop in the middle of the road, blocking the whole thing. Then I quickly shift the jeep into park and jump out drawing an arrow pointed at the approaching car. Luke skids his car to a stop and I can see he was confused. Megan had a look of hate which made me worried. I see Coy join me from the corner of my eye and he was drawn just like me.

"What are ya two doin'?" Luke asks.

"Savin' your life. _That's_ what we're doin'," I respond, my arrow pointed at Megan who had just gotten out of the car.

"What might y'all be savin' me from? Nothin' bad is happenin'."

"Your girlfriend isn't who she says she is, cuz," Coy tells him.

Luke looks confused so I add toward Megan, "Why don't ya just spill it, sugar. There's no way to hide it now."

Megan gets a smug grin and pulls out a gun. She points it at Luke and looks at me and Coy. "I knew this job would be a tough one once I met you and those other Dukes. That's why I tied you all up."

"We can never be stopped," I comment. "We just get slowed down and catch up real fast."

I feel an arm wrap around my waist and I unintentionally drop my bow and arrow in surprise. I'm picked up off the ground and a gun appears beside me, pointed at Coy.

"Drop the bow, plow boy," Matt instructs.

Coy drops it and looks concerned. I kick around but Matt had a strong grip around me. "What are we going to do now?" Megan asks.

"We tie up the blond and take us an extra."

I'm not going to let that happen if I can help it. I throw my head back and feel it connect with Matt's face. His grip on me breaks and he drops the gun. Coy runs after him and I run toward Megan. She points her gun at me and I kick it out of her hand. She throws a left hook but I dodge it and give her my legendary right hook. I can tell she wasn't a fighting girl because she was on the ground with my one punch. I quickly grab her wrists and pull them together behind her back. I pull her up to her feet and see Coy and Luke finish up with Matt.

No one can beat the Dukes. This is our territory and we will keep it ours. I lead Megan over to the jeep where I find rope that Daisy had lying around. I tie Megan's wrists and I hand some to Coy to tie Matt's wrists. We place them in the back seat of the car Luke had rented and take turns keeping an eye on them till someone arrived.

Coy gets first shift leaving Luke and I free. I stand with Coy for a minute then turn to see Luke sitting in Dixie, sadness in his face. I let out a sigh and walk over to him. "You okay?" I ask, leaning beside him.

He looks up and puts a smile on his face. "Not really."

I reach out and lay my hand on his. "It's not your fault, Luke. It happens to everyone now and again. I mean, Bo's done it a couple times now and it was bound to happen to you."

"I guess so. I just feel bad though that I didn't believe ya when ya tried tellin' me about Megan at the farm. I shouldn't have acted like that. I'm sorry."

I hang my head and smile. I look back up at Luke and he looked confused about me smiling. "It's okay Luke. I don't hold it against ya."

"Good. And thanks for savin' me. You've saved me a couple times now."

I chuckle. "Sure have. I think ya owe me a couple beers at the Boar's Nest as reward." I look around and spy my bow on the ground where I dropped it. I look closer and see that it's broken into three pieces. I walk over to it and pick it up. I show it to Luke and Coy and ask, "So who's goin' to buy me a new bow?"

Both look at the bow, then each other, then me. They both must have stepped on it when they ran to attack Matt. I smirk at the two and shake my head. My bow breaking is just a very small price for saving Luke's life and capturing two murderers. I'm just happy things ended well and we're all safe. For now at least.

* * *

><p><strong>There ya have it. The whole ending was recreated and in my opinion, its way better this way though y'all won't ever see the other ending.<strong>

**Warning: Just 2 chapters remain in this story. Big surprise at the end with 2 announcements.**


	21. Wedding Time

**I don't own the Dukes of Hazzard.**

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><p>"You may now kiss your new wife," the priest tells Judd.<p>

He gets a big childish grin on his face as he leans forward. Daisy and I giggle, knowing the Judd was really excited. Judd and Mary-Sue kiss causing every Dukes man in the room to erupt into hoots, hollers, and cheers. Even Bo and Luke join in.

The day had finally come for Judd and Marry-Sue to get married. Everyone has been waiting for this for a long time. Everything looked beautiful; the church, and even the Boar's Nest when we were checking out the decorations this morning. I had to admit that they both did a good job in choosing everything.

"I give you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Judd Kane!" the priest announces over all the noises. Judd and Mary-Sue face the overflowing church and before they walk down the aisle, Mary-Sue grabs her bouquet from her sister/maid of honor, Elizabeth. As they make their way past the hordes of family members, the rest of the wedding party follows which includes Luke and Elizabeth, Bo and Daisy, and Mary-Sue's brother, Marcus, and I.

Once the 8 of us were outside the church, everyone else is released to congratulate the new couple before going to their cars to head to the Boar's Nest for the reception. We get pictures taken, not by me since I'm busy enough with being in the wedding party, once the guests were gone then we all load into our cars to join the other guests. Daisy and I ride in her jeep while Bo and Luke took the General, Mary-Sue's brother and sister take her car, and Judd and Mary-Sue take their own.

Upon arriving, we wait a minute then make our entrances which led to the happy couple having their first dance. Once the song ends, dinner commences. The only noise in the place during dinner was talking and laughter. There were many little kids in both families, so the elders volunteered to watch them at the farm and mine and Grandma's house while we all partied. Speeches and toasts are made throughout the meal and Luke's seemed the most emotional of them all.

"I'm proud to be your brother," he says. "I thought you were dead for years until ya found us here a couple years ago. In that visit, you showed us that you were a true Duke. Now I can't imagine not knowing you are alive. I'm glad to stand beside ya on your big day and I can't wait for you to be in my place when I get married. I love ya, Judd."

By the time he finishes, I could see some tears in his eyes. He was glad to know his brother was alive. We all were happy he's alive. He's fits into the family real well.

After dinner's done, the tables are pushed aside to create a bigger dance floor. Every Duke dances with me except Bo and Luke. Some of them flirt with me too, but it was normal. Some truly had crushes on me while the others were just drunk from drinking too much Duke shine, which Jesse was good and did not make himself.

"I'm goin' to switch into my boots," I inform Daisy, having found her sitting with Enos. "Want me to bring yours in?"

Shaking her head, she says, "No, I'm fine."

I give her a smile as I turn to head outside. I wasn't as big of a fan of heels like Daisy was, but I can wear them when ever. I figured I would be dancing a lot since it was a Duke wedding, so I was smart and brought a pair of my boots to change into. I make it out to Dixie and climb into the passenger seat, grabbing my duffel from the back. I slip off the heels and slip on some socks and my boots and I feel instant relief. I throw my duffel back into the back seat and make my way back inside.

"Why you all alone?" I hear Marcus ask. He had just walked outside and was heading toward me. I study his walk and I can tell he's drunk. Someone should have limited his amount of shine intake.

"Just changin' my shoes," I tell him. He stops in front of me when I'm half way to the door and each time I try and go around him, he moves along with me. "Could ya please let me pass?"

"Why the rush?" he asks as he moves closer to me. After a few steps I find myself backed against the outside wall of the Boar's Nest. Marcus puts a hand on either side of my head and leans in real close. "I don't think any of those Dukes will care if I keep you out here for a while. I figured I could enjoy myself a little."

"They'd mind. And I'd rather go back inside, please."

He shakes his head with a menacing smile. Now I'm a little scared. He's a nice guy but apparently not when he's drunk. Before he has time to react, he's pulled away and punched a few times in the face. I watch as his body falls to the ground and it takes me a minute to see who the puncher was. To my surprise, the puncher was Luke.

"You okay?" he asks.

I nod my head. "Yeah. How'd ya know I was out here?"

"Daisy was a little worried. Said you were gone just a tad too long for changing shoes." Eyeing Marcus on the ground, he adds, "I didn't need to hear either of ya speak to know he was bein' out of line."

I give him a smile and say, "You came just in time."

He leads me inside but leaves me behind once make it in. Judd and Mary-Sue must have cut the cake in the short time I was outside because everyone was eating it. I grab a piece from the table and sit to the side as I watch everyone dance, laugh, and have fun. A slow song begins to play and I watch all the couples migrate to the floor and the single people hurry off.

"Can I have this dance?"

I look up to see that it's Luke. He held his hand out to me, waiting for me to answer. I put my empty plate on the chair beside me and take his hand as I stand up. He leads me a few steps, just off the dance floor, and once he finds the right spot he gently lays his hands on my hips. My arms wrap around his neck and without thinking, I lay my head against his chest. That invites him to pull me closer. The whole thing didn't seem to bother me; it felt right. Our luck brings us another slow song. We don't even stop between songs; it's like we knew what song was coming up next.

"Excuse me everyone," Elizabeth says when the song ends. Luke and I pull away and act like our dance had not just happened. It wasn't that we didn't like it, it's just how we are. "It's time for the garter and bouquet toss. We need our bride and groom in the center of the floor, please."

Mary-Sue makes her way to the chair that was placed in the middle of the dance floor and Judd soon joins. As he retrieves the garter, all the men in the room cheer him on; maybe just a little too much though because of the alcohol. Once Judd's completed his mission, all the single men gather by the bar, eager grins on their faces. I turn a little and realize Luke hadn't joined yet.

I grab his hand and pull him toward the other men. "What are ya doin'?" he asks.

"You're single," I tell him. "That is if ya didn't get a girl in the last couple of minutes."

"But I don't want to," he says.

I chuckle. "Too bad."

I get Bo's attention and he helps pull Luke into the group. They start to argue as the rest of us count Judd down. Judd fires blindly at the group of men behind him and without meaning to, Luke hold his hand out and the garter lands in it. Everyone begins to laugh as Luke's face turns bright red. For a man that stays calm most of the time, he can sure get a bright red coloring.

Before I know it, Daisy's dragging me to where a group of women were taking the men's places. I dig my heels into the floor as I protest. "No, Daisy. I don't want to."

"Too bad."

Those words sounded familiar. I make sure I'm in the very back of the group, closest to the bar, so I was less likely to catch the flowers. Everyone counts down and I watch as the bouquet bounces in the others women's hands in front of me. Suddenly and without warning, I find something attacking my face. Part of my instinct made me grab it and when I realize that the bouquet had attacked me, I feel myself blushing. I then find myself being pushed to the front of the group where I end up tripping on my own feet. Strong hands grab me and I couldn't tell who they belonged to.

"Clumsy," I hear Luke say.

As I'm helped up, I find out that the hands belonged to Luke. "It's nothing new."

He starts to chuckle when we begin to dance to the song that was chosen for this occasion. "What are the chances that we both catch these things?" Luke asks me.

"With how we caught them, not that big of a chance." I look around the room and many people were giving us looks. "And now, everyone's given us looks that say, 'You two _should_ get married.'"

He lets out a harsh laugh before saying, "They're all drunk."

I chuckle. "They sure are."

I spy Daisy standing with Bo by the bar and she's whispering something to Bo. He looks at Luke and I and a knowing smile appears. What could Daisy have told him? Now I need to worry because that smile can never mean good news especially while I'm dancing with Luke.

The song ends and Luke and I part ways like we did with our first dance of the night. I find a seat and roll the bouquet I caught around in my hands.

"How was your dance?" Bo asks as he takes a seat beside me. He has a guilty grin on his face.

"What did Daisy tell ya?"

"I didn't tell him anythin'," she says, taking a seat on the other side of me.

"I saw ya whisper to him and he smiled that smile he gets when he knows something."

I look between the two of them and they're both smiling guilty smiles. Daisy is the one to crack first. "He knows about you and Luke."

I quickly look at Bo and back to Daisy. "You promised not to tell."

"He guessed. _And_ he told me to tell the truth."

"Besides, Luke talks about you too. He likes you like you like him," Bo tells me.

I stand up and shake my head. "Yeah, right, Bo. I'm goin' to head home." I'm tired of all this Luke and me stuff that was happening tonight. I don't even care if it's partially because of the shine.

"But ya don't have a car," Daisy informs me.

I actually forgot that in my moment of annoyance. I try to think of something and end up saying the first thing that comes to my mind. "I'll find a ride."

I walk away from them and stop when I know I'm out of their sight. I sigh as I look around. It's going to be hard finding a ride while all these people could crash a car into nothing. I spy Jebb by the drinks and he looked to be sober enough to drive.

"Hey Jebb," I say as I walk up to him.

He turns from the table and gives me a smile. "Hey Clara. The boots work perfectly with the dress."

I look down and I realize they didn't go with the dress. A fancy orange dress never looks good with worn, aged boots. With an embarrassed grin, I look up and say, "Thanks. I'm wanting to start a new trend. Do ya think you can give me a ride home?"

"Yeah, sure." He sets down his drink and we both begin walking outside. "It's still early though," he adds.

I chuckle. Things like this where so many Dukes get together can last till morning, only because no one has the ability to drive home by the time it should end. "I'm just tired. Didn't get much sleep last night."

"Isn't that supposed to happen to the bride and groom?"

"Funny. I've just had some things on my mind the past couple of days."

We step outside and I go straight to Dixie. I grab my duffle bag, sling it across my body, I run over to Jebb's bike. I slip the helmet on as I climb on behind him. Bouquet still in hand, I wrap my arms around his torso.

"Ready for some speed?" he asks looking back at me.

"I'm _always_ ready for speed."

With that, he races out of the parking lot. I always like to ride bikes, any kind of bike. I've grown up to love racing anything and to enjoy doing anything with speed. It doesn't take long for us to make it to my house. There weren't any cars in the driveway except mine which meant that Grandma moved her babysitting operation somewhere else. I jump off the bike handing Jebb my helmet, and say bye as I make my way to the door. I dig in my duffel bag and find my keys on the very bottom. Once I get the door open, I hear Jebb ride off. I can only guess that he's heading back to the Boar's Nest.

I make my way through the house to my room with a busy mind. I throw the duffel and bouquet on my bed and get changed out of my dress. I then make my way to the bathroom and get cleaned up, feeling refreshed when I'm done. When I step back into my room, my eyes go straight to the flowers on my bed. I sit beside them and pick them up.

"Did tonight actually mean something?" I ask aloud. "Is all of this a sign or am I over reacting and over thinking?" Too much has happened this past year for me to really know the answer.

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><p><strong>Yay! The wedding has finally happened. One more chapter left. What do <em>you<em> think will happen?**


	22. Chapter 22

**Drum roll please. *insert snare drum* The last chapter.**

**For the final time, I don't own the Dukes but Clara, Catherine and the other characters that haven't been on the show are creations of my brain.**

* * *

><p>"I left the bag by the door," Grandma tells me as I step out of my room, leaving her sitting on my bed.<p>

"Okay."

Just the other day, I had some pictures printed and when I went to place them on my wall, I couldn't find a place for them. That's when I realized I had to do something about them. So yesterday, Grandma stopped at a craft store in Atlanta and got a big three ring binder with tons of pages that you can put pictures in. I'm going to keep all the pictures that are on my wall on my wall but now I'm just going to put new pictures in the binder. I exit the hallway and spy the bag by the door just like grandma said. I pick it up and when I turn around, I jump in surprise.

"Mom. Dad. When did ya guys get here?"

"Just a couple minutes ago," Mom answers standing up from the couch.

Dad does the same and says, "We've come to get you."

I look at them both confused. "What do you mean 'come to get me'?"

"We're taking you away from this ratchet place."

"This place isn't ratchet," I retort. "This place is beautiful. I love it here. _And_ it's also my home."

"Not anymore." Both Mom and Dad were scowling at me. "Now go pack your things."

"No! I'm not leavin'!" I yell at them.

"Yes you are," Dad sternly says.

"You guys can't make me. I'm 26 years old. I am the only one that controls me. You guys lost that control years ago."

"We are still your parents!" Mom raises her voice at me. Nothing about them has changed; they still _love_ to be in control.

"You two lost that roll years ago when ya brought Clara here."

We all turn and see Grandma in the hallway. She walks over to me and puts a hand on my shoulder while looking at Mom and Dad.

"Stay out of this Mom."

"I will not," she says. She had the right mix of force with her sweet voice. "She is my granddaughter and _I'm_ the one that raised her."

Mom looked ready to attack her own mother; her flesh and blood. "It's because of those sleazy Dukes, isn't it?"

"They are not sleazy," I retort. I don't get why she would say that. "They are _good _people."

She laughs a pure, fake laugh. "They've lied to you my poor innocent daughter."

"What are ya talkin' about?"

"Jesse and his brothers bullied me when I was growing up. They are the reason I left this disgusting place. I know that their kids are just the same as their fathers."

"You're wrong!" She had to be lying; no Duke would be like that. "And Bo, Luke, and Daisy couldn't be like that. Even if what ya said was true, their parents died when they were babies."

"Doesn't matter. They were raised by Jesse and I know it's in their blood."

"Stop makin' stories up, Joy." I've never seen Grandma so full of anger. She's been mad at me, Daisy, and the guys but this was a different kind of anger. "You know that those boys were nothing but nice to ya. Don't try and poison this young girl's mind."

"I'm tired of this!" Dad yells before pulling a gun out of his jacket. He points it at Grandma and I stare at him in disbelief.

"You wouldn't pull that trigger," Grandma says without fear.

"You don't know me."

"You changed because of him, Joy. Clara is just like you before ya met him. You aren't me daughter anymore. I should have taken Clara when you came to my door step and fought for custody of her."

"You would have lost."

"No, I wouldn't. It would have happened here in Hazzard so ya couldn't buy out the judge. I also would have had more people to back me than you two."

"Shut up!" Dad yells angrily. "Clara, get your things and let's go."

"She's not leavin'," Grandma states.

Something flashed across Dad's face before a gunshot rings throughout the house. Grandma's hand falls off my shoulder and I quickly turn to look at her. A scream escaped me as I drop the bag and fall to my knees beside her. Blood was soaking her shirt. Dad had shot her. Not in the heart, but real close to it. I grab Grandma's hand and lay my other hand on her cheek.

"Hang on Grandma. Please hang on," I plea as tears start to fall from my eyes.

She lays her free hand on my hand that's on her cheek. Tears start to fall from her eyes as she says, "I love ya all."

"Grandma, stay with me," I say as I watch her eyes close. "Please. Don't leave me."

Her hand weakens in my hand and her other one falls off of mine on her cheek. I bring her hand up and kiss it as the tears come harder. Anger suddenly fills me up and demands to be released. I lay Grandma's hand on her chest and slowly stand up, turning to face Dad.

"You monster!" I shout at him.

"She was standing in our way," he says calmly. How dare he have that tone of voice.

"Now go and get packed or we might go and pay a visit to the Dukes." My head snaps to face Mom. She has an evil smile on her face. "I wouldn't mind taking my revenger out on them."

I couldn't let them kill the Dukes. They've already taken one innocent life away from this world. They won't get the satisfaction of taking away more. "Fine. I'll go with ya. But we can't leave tonight. The moment Grandma and I don't show up when we normally do for church in the mornin', everyone will wonder. That will lead to them findin' me missing and startin' a man hunt. As long as I go in the mornin', I can keep that from happening."

They both turn away from me and start whispering. My knuckles start to hurt and I realize my hands were clenched tightly into fists. I was using everything I had to keep from attacking them while their backs were turned.

"Okay," Mom says as her and Dad turn back to me. "We'll put your things in the car before we take you to church and then we'll leave right after."

I nod my head to tell them that I understand. Without a word, they walk down the hallway and I hear a door close. They had gone into Grandma's room. I don't need to see that to know it. Without looking at her, I pick up the bag and take it into my room. I fall onto my bed and break down. My life has changed completely in less than 24 hours. Grandma is gone and I'm forced to leave Hazzard. Forced to leave the home I grew up in. Forced to leave my friends. Forced to leave the people I call family.

What am I going to tell the Dukes in the morning? I can't tell them the truth. They'll just get involved while it's not safe. I won't let them get hurt because of me. They're not going risk their lives.

Slowly, I pull myself together just enough to get to work. I go up to the attic through the hatch in the hallway and pull down a couple suitcases, a duffle, and an old shoe box. I lug everything into my room as quietly as I can and start packing. The first things I pack are all my pictures. I strip the wall of the many years of memories and place them in the shoe box. I then take my time putting the other loose pictures into the binder like I was going to do with Grandma. It's one of the better ways to store them for now. A couple tears escape as I come across a couple pictures with Grandma in them. Once they are all in and secure, I place the box and binder at the bottom of one of the suitcases.

Next, I gather my 3 bag and place them around the box and binder. This suitcase seems fit to hold my miscellaneous things. In the other suit case, I begin to place all my shorts, pants, and shirts. I lay some of my dresses on the top and quickly realize that I should go ahead and get dressed for tomorrow before I pack everything up. It isn't like I'm going to get any sleep tonight after all that happened.

I change into one of my floral dresses and throw on my denim jacket that looked a lot like Luke's. Daisy's going to kill me when she sees me in the morning but I put my boots on to go with my outfit. I'd rather be comfortable for however long the drive will be tomorrow than look like I normally do for church.

Once I make sure I'm completely dressed, I finish putting my clothes into the suitcase and force it closed. I put my dirty clothes into the duffle and place my shoes inside too since there was still room and I didn't own that many pairs. I pull a few of my favorite books from my shelf and place them in the miscellaneous suitcase along with my camera. I zip that suitcase up and place both of them on the ground along with my duffle.

Quietly, I make my way into the bathroom and stare at my reflection. I've seemed to age in a matter of hours. My face looked grim and sadness can be seen in my eyes. It's going to take a bit of work to hide all of this. I get myself cleaned up; pulling my hair into a low ponytail, applying some make-up, and placing the rest of my toiletries into a bag from under the sink. I take one last look in the mirror and congratulate myself for disguising the grim that was all over my face.

I head back to my room and stuff the bag into the duffle that still had just enough room for more stuff. I make my bed and place my turtle at the foot of it. I want so bad to bring him but I know Mom and Dad wouldn't like that idea. I then notice my orange car stuck between my bed and the wall. I chuckle as I pull it out and look it over. I've kept it on my bed ever since I got it. I'm not going to stop now though. I put it in my duffle, finally filling it to the brim.

Looking at the clock, I realized that I have a couple hours before we had to leave still. This gives me some time to think about what I'm going to say to everyone. It'll be hard lying to all my friends. What a way to leave though; lie and disappear before they find out you had lied to them.

"Time to go!" Dad gruffly yells.

I look at the clock again and realize the few hours went by in minutes. I get up from my bed and move my suitcases out into the hall. I step back into my room and take one last look around as I grab my duffle bag. I have grown up in this room. So many memories will stay here and in this house.

I make my way down the hall and out the front door while trying to avoid looking at Grandma. I didn't want to start crying again and ruin the work I had done on my face. I walk over to the car Mom and Dad had drove and open the back door. I throw my duffel onto the seat and look back at the house. I realize that I couldn't bring myself to say goodbye to Chester, Lily, and Duke which make me also realize that they hadn't made one noise last night, even with the gun shot. I should make sure they're okay but if they were, they couldn't handle seeing me and then not seeing me later.

I sigh and climb into the back seat as Dad starts up the engine. He casually pulls out of the driveway and heads for town. I'm going to miss the fast, roaring engine of the General Lee. I'm going to miss racing in him _and_ against him. No car could ever beat the General in my mind.

Dad takes his time driving into town and decides to park a couple blacks away from the church. He turns to face me and all I can do is think of him as a killer. "You'll walk from here. No funny business. You better be out right when it's done. We'll be waiting right in front."

I nod before I get out and start walking. As I'm nearing the church, my gaze falls upon the General parked a few cars down. They're here right on time.

"Hey Clara," Bo greets cheerfully. "Where's Grandma?"

I use everything in my body to stay together as I say, "She's not feelin' well. She told me she could handle herself for a little bit."

"I guess we'll have to have lunch at your house this time then," Jesse replies as the 5 of us walk up the steps and into the church.

It was so hard not to tell Jesse that they wouldn't want to eat if they went over there. We slide into our pew we shared and the reverend starts the service. I couldn't pay attention though; too much is on my mind. I needed to tell someone. I just can't leave with no one not knowing where I am. There is one person that I can trust and I was sitting beside him. Luckily, the sermon ended early and everyone decided to stay in the building to talk. It will make Mom and Dad think that service was still happening.

"Luke, can I talk to ya?" I ask him as I grab his arm to stop him from following the others.

He turns to me and concern appears on his face. My face must be easy to read right now. "Sure."

I wait for everyone to leave the room before I begin. "I lied to ya guys. Grandma's not sick. . . . She's dead."

A minute passes before Luke comprehends what I said and a confused look appears on his face. "What do ya mean? She's too young to die of any natural causes. _And_ she's in perfect health."

I finally lose the battle and let the tears escape my eyes. I tell him all that happened last night. I tell him about Mom and Dad wanting to take me and Dad shooting Grandma because she was in the way of their plan.

His face fills with pure rage as I finish explaining. "I'm goin' to kill him."

He starts to turn but I grab one of his hands that were balled up into a fist. "Luke, don't," I plea. "They'll kill you before ya have a chance to get ahold of either of them. Don't give Mom the satisfaction of killin' one of you Dukes." Luke turns toward me and gives me a confused look. I let out a sigh before I say, "She's never liked a Duke. Mainly yours, Bo's, and Daisy's dads along with Jesse. She claims that they bullied her growing up and that's the reason for her leaving. Then she threatened to go over to the farm to kill all four of you if I didn't agree to go with them. She won't think twice about killing of you three cousins either. She thinks y'all are just like your dads."

"We don't even remember our dads," Luke exclaims. "How can we be like them, _if_ they were even like that?"

"She said that you were raised by Jesse and it runs in your blood." Luke still looks ready to kill, so I gently squeeze the fist I was holding. "I'll never believe that though. You know that. I've grown up with you guys and I've never seen any of you stoop to that level."

That seemed to calm him some because his fist unclenches and he wraps his fingers around mine. He still had a look of anger though but it's a little tamer now. "We'll get ya out of this."

"No, Luke. I'm not goin' to let ya guys get hurt because of me." He looked ready to protest so I quickly continue. "I can do this myself."

"We've dealt with this before."

"No, ya guys haven't. This time is completely different than those other times. You won't be able to shuck 'n' jive them. They know what ya guys look like. And they are willing to kill. That's the first thing they will go to."

Luke wants to argue with me but he backs down. That's not normal for Luke. He's so stubern yet he's not fighting me like he normally would. I look him in his blue eyes and see sadness in them. "I'm goin' to make you a big Duke promise," I tell him still looking him in his eyes. "I promise that I'll come back. I don't know how long it'll take . . . but I will come back." Luke eyes begin to look glassy which makes me teary. "Now I want you to keep a promise for me, Luke."

"Anything."

"First, I want you to keep the others away from the house for about an hour. It'll give us enough time to get out of town. And before ya guys go inside, please tell them what I told you. I don't want them to freak out when they walk in. Second, make sure Grandma has the funeral she deserves. Third, keep the house, cars, and dogs out of Boss's or anyone's hands." He nods and I continue. "Lastly, I want ya to promise me that you won't lose faith in me. I want to be sure that someone will be here waiting for me until I get back."

He says nothing. Instead, he pulls me into a hug and holds me tight. I burry my face into his chest and cry more. I feel him lay his head on my own and tighten his hold more if it was even possible.

"I'll keep those promises," he finally whispers to me.

"I'll miss ya, Luke," I mumble into his chest.

"I'll miss ya more." He kisses my hair and lets me go. I look at him and notice the trails of tears that had fallen down his face. He was actually crying . . . and it was about me.

I look at the wall clack and realize that I needed to be heading outside. "I . . . I've got to go. Mom and Dad are waiting for me outside."

"I'll walk ya out."

He takes my hand and leads me out of the pew. We walk down the aisle and step into the hallway where everyone was gathered. I notice all the looks we're getting as we walk to the front doors and I don't even care about them. Some were happy and some could kill. We step outside and Mom and Dad were right where they said they would be; right in front. Luke stops at the top of the stairs but I keep going. My hand slips out of his and I instantly miss his touch. I open the back door and look back up at Luke. He gives me a weak smile and I do the same.

I get inside the car but keep looking at Luke. I give a small wave as we pull away and Luke does the same. I keep looking at him as we continue down the road. The sadness in both our faces grow as we drive further away. When he's out of sight, I turn back around but end up looking at my duffle bag beside me on the seat. I open it up and pull out the orange, stuffed car.

"Luke was holding something back," I say in my head. "He was keeping something from me. But I held something back from him as well. I kept my true feelings inside; feelings of love. I think I might be in love with Luke Duke and I think he might be in love with me."


	23. Author's Note MUST READ

**There we go. It's taken me almost 2 years to complete. It seems like just yesterday I was in computer class typing the first couple of chapters and deciding to post this story just to have it up for the time being.**

**I'm SO sorry about the ending but it was for the better. The ending helps lead up to the first bit of news I have. News #1: I have a sequel in the works. Yes, you did read right. I have probably more than half of it written on paper already, waiting to be typed up. You won't believe the surprises I have in store for you guys.**

**Now on to the second bit of news. News #2: I will be editing this story along with posting my new one. Looking back at my first few chapters, I've noticed how much my writing has evolved. With that, I feel like I sure rewrite them to help make your guys' reading experience more pleasurable. I promise I won't change the story lines that are placed in each chapter, I will just fix some small mistakes, add more details that I realize I should have put in, and make the sentences more readable.**

**With that, I must bid y'all farewell for now. I've loved writing this story and hey, it's the first story I've finish. Big high-five for me. Can't wait to see y'all again when I start putting the next story up. Remember to keep it 'tween the ditches. Bye.**


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